Jaipur, June 13 (IANS) Two days after a power outage disrupted the Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s press conference at the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (RRVPN) on Saturday suspended an Assistant Engineer (AEN) and an electrician, while issuing a charge sheet to another official.

The action follows an inquiry ordered by the State Energy Minister Heeralal Nagar after repeated power failures embarrassed the state administration during the high-profile event on June 11.

A tripping incident at the 400 kV Grid Sub-Station (GSS) in Hirapura caused electricity supply to fail three times during Union Minister Vaishnaw’s press conference.

The outage forced the Union Railways Minister to continue interacting with journalists in darkness for nearly 13 minutes, triggering criticism and raising questions over the reliability of the power transmission system.

A three-member committee constituted to investigate the incident submitted its report to the state government, following which RRVPN initiated disciplinary action.

According to the order issued by the RRVPN, Assistant Engineer Vipin Verma and Electrician Grade-I officer Babu Singh, both posted at the 400 kV GSS Hirapura, have been suspended with immediate effect after the inquiry found lapses in their duties.

In addition, a charge sheet has been served on R.P. Gupta, the Executive Engineer (XEN) responsible for Jaipur City, seeking his explanation regarding the incident.

The power utility said the action was based on facts established during the departmental inquiry.

The suspension order specifies that both officials will remain posted to the office of the Additional Chief Engineer (IT) at RRVPN in Jaipur, which has been designated as their headquarters during the suspension period.

Rajasthan Energy Minister Heeralal Nagar said that negligence in the power transmission system, frequent tripping incidents and inconvenience caused to consumers would not be tolerated.

He directed officials to strengthen the grid and transmission network and implement preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not recur.

“The power sector must function with accountability. Strict action will continue against those found responsible for lapses,” the Minister said.

The incident had gained considerable attention because it occurred during a public event attended by a Union Minister, exposing vulnerabilities in the transmission system despite the presence of senior government officials and advance preparations.

–IANS

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