India's power dilemma

Mumbai is home to some of the world's biggest slums and millions of people. There is a lot of demand for resources such as electrity.

Families of six and seven people live in cramped, one-room homes. They are often lit by a single, dim light bulb.

Doing simple things, like studying, can be a chore. And many families have to choose between paying for food or feeding the power meter.

There are many factories in the slums. For them, higher power prices can wipe out their profits and may see them close.

It's not difficult to steal power in the slums, and there are plenty of people offering to hook you up. All it takes is a couple of twists and almost anyone can get switched on.

The going rate is 300 rupees (£3.80; $6.10) a month for three power points. Normally one fan, one light bulb, and a plug.

Illegal wires spring up across the city. Once the thieves splice into the mains, they run a mains cable to the slum where it grows into a noodle soup of wires.

Power firms are trying to cut theft, and they take their job seriously. The vigilance team at Mumbai's BEST utility are made up of engineers and security men.

The vigilance team cuts the wires, and then tries to find out who supplies the power. They also try to get people to install metres, saying their legal power is cheaper than the stolen stuff.

India's demand for electricity keeps growing as its young population keeps expanding. The challenge for firms such as BEST will be meeting users' power needs at a price that means no-one feels the need to steal. Photos by Ben Richardson and Saraskanth.