In an incident that has left Sri Lanka both baffled and bemused, a monkey allegedly caused a nationwide blackout after entering a power station in Colombo and coming into contact with a transformer. The bizarre episode, which unfolded on Sunday, has ignited a flurry of reactions online, with netizens questioning the robustness of the island nation’s power infrastructure and making light of the surreal circumstances.
According to Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, the disruption occurred when the monkey triggered an imbalance in the national grid, leading to a complete power outage across the country of 22 million people. “A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system,” Jayakody confirmed to reporters.
The blackout struck at around 11:00 local time (05:30 GMT) and persisted for several hours, forcing hospitals, water purification plants, and essential services to operate on emergency generators. Power restoration efforts are underway, with priority given to critical infrastructure, though authorities have warned it may take some time to fully restore supply.
Social Media Reacts: From Outrage to Amusement
The unprecedented outage quickly became a talking point online, with many Sri Lankans expressing both frustration and amusement. Social media users ridiculed the idea that a lone monkey could incapacitate an entire nation’s power supply.
“Only in Sri Lanka can a group of monkeys fighting inside a power station cause an islandwide power outage,” remarked Jamila Husain, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror, on X (formerly Twitter).
Another user, Mario Nawfal, sarcastically noted, “One monkey = total chaos. Time to rethink infrastructure?”
Parallels to Mythology and Infrastructure Concerns
Some users humorously linked the incident to the Indian epic Ramayana, in which Lord Hanuman, a Hindu deity depicted as a monkey, set fire to Lanka. Memes comparing the modern outage to the ancient tale quickly spread across social media platforms.
However, beyond the humor, the blackout has also sparked serious discussions about the country’s fragile power infrastructure. The Daily Mirror, in a report published Monday, highlighted that engineers have repeatedly warned successive governments about the urgent need to upgrade Sri Lanka’s aging power grid.
“The national power grid is in such a weakened state that frequent islandwide power outages may be expected if there is a disturbance even in one of our lines,” an unnamed senior engineer was quoted as saying.
Sri Lanka has suffered power crises in the past, most notably during its severe economic downturn in 2022, which saw prolonged blackouts due to fuel shortages. This latest outage, albeit caused by an unexpected culprit, has reignited concerns over the resilience of the country’s electricity network and the need for urgent modernization efforts.
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Manbilas Singh is a talented writer and journalist who focuses on the finer details in every story and values integrity above everything. A self-proclaimed sleuth, he strives to expose the fine print behind seemingly mundane activities and aims to uncover the truth that is hidden from the general public. In his time away from work, he is a music aficionado and a nerd who revels in video & board games, books and Formula 1.
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