SHILLONG:
The Meghalaya High Court on June 14 asked the State to exempt hospitals from power cuts.
In response to a PIL on the matter, the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh stated, “The State should make every effort to ensure that even if the need arises in the future to restrict the continuous supply of power on account of any shortfall, the hospitals and like institutions are exempted or, there is backup available by way of diesel generator sets for the hospitals and like institutions to run seamlessly and unaffected by power cuts.”
According to the State, hospitals are generally exempt from power outages if they are connected by high tension feeder lines. Even the Shillong Civil Hospital does not appear to have a high tension feeder line that serves the entire hospital. The North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences has also been spared power outages, according to the state.
The Court has stated that, aside from the fact that hospitals and healthcare centres throughout the state need to be improved qualitatively with better equipment, more experts, and larger facilities, the most basic thing that must be ensured is an uninterrupted supply of power to such places, as power is essential in running machines for patients on life support and, possibly, supply of oxygen. The Court has also ordered the State to have a backup plan in place in case power outages occur.
“It is hoped that the recent rains will help to improve the situation. However, if power outages occur, there must be a plan B in place that is both rational and equitable,” it said. According to the State, due to substantial rains during the last week or so, the Umiam waters have risen by as much as 10 feet, allowing for higher power generation. Since the beginning of June 2023, the state has also purchased power from the National Thermal Power Corporation. The state is also considering purchasing power from the open grid to supplement the existing supply.
Meanwhile, the State has been directed to file a status report on the matter before the next hearing to be held on July 5.