With the Blessings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, a 1 Megawatt solar power plant started functioning at SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, campus on the Aradhana Mahotsavam of Bhagawan Baba on April 24, 2018.  Spread on an area of around 5 acres and established at a cost of around Rs. 4.1 crore (approx. $610,000) the solar plant will fulfil 1/3rd of the electricity requirement of the hospital.  

As solar power will ensure lesser dependence on the power grid it would also help in reducing the carbon footprint of the hospital.  

The solar power plant established at the SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, is a part of a larger 2.1 Mega Watt solar power project initiated by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. As a part of the project an 800 Kilowatt solar plant has been set up  at the Sri Sathya Sai University while a 100 Kilowatt solar plant and a 200 Kilowatt plant has been set up at the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, Prasanthi Nilayam and at the Sri Sathya Sai Archives respectively. The project is one of the largest in the country by a charitable organisation. 

The total expenditure for the whole project is to the tune of Rs. 9 crore (approx. $ 1.3 million) 

For the solar plant at the SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, the approach was to have both roof top solar panels and also use the fallow land available within the campus. 

A total of around 3,200 solar panels have been put in place to generate electricity. The solar panels, which were sourced from an Indian company have a minimum assured life span of 25 years and require little maintenance, which mainly involves cleaning of the dust getting accumulated on the panels. This is done once in 15-30 days depending on the specific area. At the current running cost, the cost of the solar plant could be recovered in a span of 4 years. 

The solar plant at SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, is so planned, that it runs on a continuous back up from the electricity grid. If there is heavy cloud cover, which reduces the output of the solar plant then the power from the grid will compensate it and when the output from the solar plant increases then the power drawn from the grid will automatically reduce. 

The solar plant is designed to provide electricity in the day time only. 

The electricity generated from the solar power can be used not just for ordinary lighting etc. but also to run medical equipment like the CT scanners and MRI machines also. 

The setting up of solar power plant at the hospital is one more step towards conservation of the environment, which follows the complete switch over by the hospital to LED lighting, which was done in a phased manner in the past two years. Currently the hospital is lit completely using only LEDs. 

Thinking about this incident where a grandfatherly person told me that we were ‘near’ to Swami had me thinking about another incident that happened several years later. One day in the year 2010, we the students of Swami’s college, who were working at the SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, went up to Swami near His residence at the Yajur Mandir in Prasanthi Nilayam and requested His permission  to conduct a programme called ‘Sai Saameepyam’. As He was reading the card, He asked us what the programme was all about. We told Swami that the staff of the Super Specialty hospital at Prasanthigram wanted to spend a weekend staying in Prasanthi Nilayam and participating in all the activities of the Ashram. Swami asked us why we wanted to do it. We told Him that it was for His saameepyam – for nearness to Him. He proceeded to tell us that mere nearness was not enough – dearness was more important. Swami explained, that sincerity at work automatically translates into dearness with Him.  

From the days of three computers, this hospital has today become one of the most IT-enabled hospitals. From the days the first spiral CT scanner was installed here, incidentally the first in India, the Radiology department has one of the best CT scanners capable of doing even Coronary Angiogram CT scans and a state-of-the-art MRI machine. The statistics that one can view in this newsletter are a testimony to the continuing flow of Swami’s Love for humankind. 

And, behind every number that adds to the statistics, there is a unique story – the story of Swami’s Divine Love.

According to Ophthalmic surgeon at SSSIHMS, Dr. S. Lakshminarayanan, the lens in Bharani's eyes were subluxated, to put in in simple terms, the lenses were displaced from their normal position, which had resulted in Bharani not being able to see properly. This condition is known to deteriorate over time. The surgery for this condition is a complex one. “Normally when we replace a lens in cataract patients, it is not difficult, because we have the supporting structures (capsular bag and zonules) intact which hold the new lens in place. But in Bharani's  case, zonules were weak and elongated and could not support the lens causing it to displace from its normal position. So in addition to replacing the lens we were required to provide a support to the lens as well. The process involved fixation of lens to the sclera (white part of eye), so as to hold the lens in place. It is a very delicate and complex procedure.” Dr. Lakshminarayanan said. “ The right eye was operated last year and now in April, 2018 the around six months later the second eye was operated. The boy is doing fine and his vision has much improved than before and the new lenses are stable,” he added. "Though this was a defect from the birth, yet I think it was the gradual deterioration of the eye sight and the change in the sitting arrangement in the class, which brought his ailment to light,” the surgeon said. 

Director of SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram Dr. Gurumurthy, said that the equipment used in the department, like any other department of the hospital, is  state-of-the-art. “What Swami provides to the patient here is the best one would get anywhere in the world. Just last year a new microscope worth around Rs.5,000,000 ($77,000) was inaugurated in the Ophthalmology operation theatre. And most importantly, the treatment is completely free of charge to all the patients irrespective of caste, class, creed, race, religion or nationality,” he said. 

Pramila and her husband Srinivas are all smiles after the surgeries. “We were extremely concerned about the fate of our boy, but after treatment here, we are so relieved. Our boy’s sight has been restored. This is not a hospital, it is a temple, ” Pramila said. " In the hospital the doctors, nurses, and the sevadal are so loving. I never felt that I was ever away from homel," she said.  

“For families like ours, which were floundering in the darkness of despair, Swami's hospital is like a guiding light. We can only say that we will always be deeply indebted to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,” Srinivas said.