Eight years back, in the year 2012, there was a blackout problem on 30^th July. This hit the society hard and adversely affected over 400 million people almost instantly.  And on the next day, the count increased to 620 million, mainly in Northern and Easter India.

            During this mishap, most of us have seen how within 48 hours our daily life schedules were disrupted beyond control. Later, it was informed to the general public that this sudden disaster was due to some frequency mismatch. The public couldn’t imagine what the frequency mismatch was. But the phenomenon was of vital concern to Electrical Engineers and it affected the society like a bolt from the blue.

             This lasted for a few hours and those few hours kept the Electrical Engineers extremely busy like anything. But why so?

            Because during those few hours we, the concerned Electrical Engineers, were busy using our backup power sources like batteries, inverters, power backup devices etc. to maintain the supply of electricity in the country.

           Very recently, a similar situation prevailed in the post Amphun period on 21^st May, 2020. In many places in West Bengal and Orissa, people were suffering without electricity for more than 72 hours. What a horrible experience it was!.  As a consequence of lack of electrical power, the following were directly affected:

1. Due to the rampage of Amphan, innumerable trees were uprooted or broken and many major roads were blocked bringing the traffic to a halt. Quick removal of these trees needed power saws which operate using electrical power. So, it was almost an impossible deal to execute the task without electricity. And people suffered like anything with the roads and streets blocked for days.
2. Houses were without electricity due to devastation of Amphan. So, domestic water supply was completely stopped as the domestic water pumps, driven by electric motors, were “dead”.
3. Internet connectivity and mobile networks have stopped as well due to lack of electrical power and also some mechanical damages to communication towers.
4. Online work in our laptops or in mobile phones lasted only until the batteries within the device became dead.
5. Automated home appliances worked with electricity. So, they breathed their last.
6. All automated devices in business places and various motor drives in industrial belts came to an abrupt halt without the supply of electricity.

Dear readers, just think it over, without all the above activity,  can we do any good to the society? The answer is a big NO. We are being educated to serve our society, and to fulfil this dream we need a large number of technically sound Electrical Engineers. For the survival of the society, even for 24 hours, we need the support of Electrical Engineers, which can only be possible if we join the community of Electrical Engineers and be ready to serve the society.

For the foundation of the human civilization, to look after our daily basic needs, we need Electrical Engineers. So in view of the continuous need of our society, I encourage all young minds to think about it once again: join the community of Electrical Engineers.

 Our society needs you.