Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital, located at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, is set to offer launch yet another philanthropic program in cooperation with IndusInd Bank under which it will provide an extra 40 free heart surgeries to children every year.
The surgeries are being provided free of cost due to the savings of around Rs 60 lakhs per year arising out of a free solar power plant installed in the hospital by IndusInd Bank.
Aside from the latest sponsorship, IndusInd Bank had an existing commitment with the hospital to support 400 surgeries for congenital heart disease in children who otherwise would not live for more than 10 years.
The bank, a part of Hinduja Group, said the new grid-connected solar photovoltaic system will generate nearly 300 kilowatt of power at peak output. This will help reduce carbon emissions by over 340 tonnes and help the hospital save nearly Rs 60 lakh annually.
This amount will then be used to “facilitate cardiac surgeries of 40 children suffering from congenital heart diseases, free of cost,” it added.
The Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani hospital in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai is managed under the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centres For Child Heart Care that operates a chain of hospitals in states like Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Maharashtra rendering free of cost Pediatric Cardiac Care focusing on Congenital Heart Disease.
The solar panel installation is part of IndusInd Bank’s ‘Institutions on Solar’ initiative in collaboration, with the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) as its implementing partner.
Under the program, the Bank has successfully completed roof top solar installations across 14 schools and institutions during the year ended March 2020.
According to the bank, these installations are estimated to generate solar power of 2.76 lakh units per year for 25 years, resulting in annual savings of Rs 6 crores, and a reduction of carbon emission totaling to 5,600 tonne.
“The installation of solar panels at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital reaffirms our commitment towards helping the hospital reduce its carbon footprint significantly on one hand, while also facilitating surgeries for children with cardiac ailments on the other,” said Roopa Satish, who heads the bank’s CSR or corporate social responsibility activities.
Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is one of the trustees of the hospital.