The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has installed 57 solar-powered lights in the past two weeks at a cost of Rs.24.51 lakh.
R. Doraiswamy, MLA, Coimbatore (South), in whose constituency the hospital is, had provided funds from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
Medical Superintendent B. Asokan told The Hindu here on Sunday that this was the first time the CMCH was installing solar streetlights. Till now, it used solar power only for heating water.
The lights were installed at places that hitherto lacked lighting.
This was part of enhancing facilities and security. Proper lighting would deter anti-social elements from using the campus, especially during the night, sources said.
The CMCH, a tertiary referral hospital for the region which catered to people from several Western districts, gets, on an average, 7,000 outpatients every.
There are usually 1,200 in-patients.
The first solar light was installed in August 2014 under a pilot scheme near the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centre.
The lights would be stand-alone systems with each unit having a 40-Watt LED lamp, solar panel and battery. The lights can be used round-the-clock.
More lights
“We plan to install more lights once the five-block centenary building, under construction, is commissioned,” Dr. Asokan said.
These lights would result in considerable financial savings on the power front for the hospital, which pays commercial tariff of Rs.5 per unit, sources.
The work was executed by the Public Works Department (PWD), Medical Wing.
Coimbatore Medical College Hospital installs 57 solar-powered lights in two weeks.
