A sudden power outage plunged Maharaja Tej Singh District Hospital in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, into darkness during heavy rainfall, forcing doctors and staff to treat patients under mobile phone torchlight for nearly two hours, exposing glaring gaps in basic healthcare infrastructure.
Videos and footage shared widely on social media over the past 24 hours show several wards of Maharaja Tej Singh District Hospital one of Mainpuri’s main public health facilities engulfed in darkness after a sudden power failure amid heavy rainfall.
Relatives and hospital staff can be seen holding phone torchlights to illuminate areas where patients were resting or being examined, including in emergency and general wards.
According to local media reports, the outage lasted close to two hours, during which time the hospital’s backup systems, including inverters and generators, either failed or remained non‑operative.
Officials and on‑scene accounts indicate that emergency lighting did not activate as expected, intensifying the distress among families and patients in critical condition.
Patients and attendants faced not only darkness, but humidity, disrupted services and fears for lives dependent on immediate care, raising urgent questions about the reliability of power infrastructure in a facility meant to provide 24×7 emergency treatments.
System Failure, Public Outrage
Healthcare workers, caught off‑guard by the blackout, resorted to mobile phone flashes-some held by nurses and doctors, others by patients’ relatives-to continue basic examinations and procedures. Videos show staff moving around corridors with phones held high, attempting to find their way and attend to patients.
The situation triggered frustration among families, many of whom said they had previously complained about erratic electricity and malfunctioning backup systems.
Local residents noted that this was not the first time Mainpuri’s district hospital experienced such breakdowns. Previous reports highlighted similar power issues, and videos even showed attendants fanning patients manually when fans and lighting systems failed.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) was approached for comment, but his responses focused on acknowledging the outage while emphasising efforts to restore systems.
District authorities stated that one of the generators had a minor fault and was being repaired, and insisted that in usual circumstances backup power systems are in place and functional.
Healthcare activists and civil society leaders responded angrily, demanding accountability and a full transparent review of emergency preparedness at the hospital.
Many questioned how a government facility, which serves thousands of citizens each month, could manage critical cases in darkness and why basic infrastructure like generators and inverters were not maintained diligently.
A Broader Pattern of Healthcare Stress in Uttar Pradesh
The Mainpuri episode is not an isolated case; similar incidents have surfaced from other districts in Uttar Pradesh. Hospitals in Ballia and Jalaun have previously been reported treating patients under makeshift lighting due to power failures or technical glitches in backup systems, fuelling concerns about systemic neglect of infrastructure in government healthcare facilities.
In Ballia, for instance, a viral video from mid‑2025 showed patients being treated by torchlight for roughly 45 minutes after both the grid and the hospital’s generator failed, leading officials to later install additional inverters as a corrective step.
Similar scenes of improvised care due to power outages have also been documented at other district hospitals, with social media and local press calling attention to recurring issues in emergency lighting and equipment reliability.
These incidents occur against a backdrop of state government claims about improvements in healthcare services, including the digital transformation of health records and efforts to expand critical care access.
But activists argue that digital upgrades cannot compensate for failing physical infrastructure-especially when electricity and basic facilities determine the difference between life and death.
Why Power Matters in Healthcare
Reliable electricity is one of the most basic requirements for safe and effective patient care. It powers ventilators, diagnostic machines, lighting in operating theatres, emergency response systems and climate control—especially important in hot, humid regions.
A failure in power infrastructure not only disrupts treatment but can quickly turn routine care into life‑threatening situations. In Mainpuri’s recent outage, relatives said the darkness exacerbated fear and confusion, particularly for those waiting with seriously ill patients.
Hospitals in resource‑limited settings are required to maintain robust backup systems precisely because grid power can be unpredictable.
Yet, the Mainpuri blackout-despite the presence of generators and inverters—suggests either poor maintenance, lack of timely repair, or gaps in operational protocols that left the facility dependent on ad‑hoc measures like mobile torches.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Healthcare is a fundamental right, and no patient should have to rely on a phone torch while seeking urgent medical care in a government facility. The scenes emerging from Mainpuri are a stark reminder that infrastructure and accountability must match the scale of policy ambitions.
While digital innovations and programmes can enhance healthcare delivery on paper, the real test lies in concrete improvements where it matters most-at the patient’s bedside.
We recognise the challenges that public health systems face, including funding, administrative bottlenecks and environmental factors like extreme weather.
However, citizens deserve assurance that emergency backup systems, routine maintenance, and transparent accountability mechanisms are in place and functioning reliably.
Health is not solely a matter of policy rhetoric; it is measured by the dignity, safety and responsiveness of care that every individual receives
