Mumbai, April 4: Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut on Saturday asked people of the nation to rethink on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call of switching off lights for nine minutes at 9 pm on Sunday, April 5, as it would lead to failure of power grid. Raut said all emergency services will fail if lights are put off and it might take a week's time to restore power. "If all lights are switched off at once it might lead to failure of grid. All our emergency services will fail and it might take a week's time to restore power", Raut said.

The Minister further appealed to people of the nation to follow the PM's call and light candles, diyas (earthen lamps) to fight the darkness brought upon the country by coronavirus pandemic but without switching off the lights. "I would appeal to the public to light candles and lamps without switching off lights", Raut said.  In a message, he has urged the citizens not to turn off all the lights at the same time. He also said that it may take up to 12 to 16 hours to restore services, adding that in fight against coronavirus pandemic, electricity is an important tool. PM Narendra Modi's April 5 Blackout Call Puts Power Sector on Alert Mode to Maintain Grid Stability.

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The Prime Minister's appeal for a 9-minute blackout at 9 p.m. on Sunday, has shaken the babus in the power ministry. They have put themselves in a huddle to quickly devise a strategy to prevent the April 5 event from creating ground for a possible grid collapse and resultant blackout throughout the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2020 10:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).