Councillors say they will emphasise on lighting up parks and greenbelts with the use of play equipment and solar energy in their report. The system is in place in Gangtok.

The councillors, while on a visit to a park in Gangtok, saw the swings installed were being used to produce electricity. This, coupled with solar energy, ensured that no electricity had to be supplied to the parks where the equipment was installed.

“The idea is to convert energy into current. The equipment on the playground had a system installed that transferred the energy produced while its being used. The equipment was connected to a control room through which power was then distributed. This ensured that enough energy was produced to light up the park. Along with solar energy being used there was no need for electricity to be supplied to the area. A restaurant was also being powered through the electricity produced,” said Councillor Chander Mukhi Sharma.

The civic body has been installing play equipment in parks and greenbelts in the city. While earlier the colourful equipment comprising of slides and swings and at places a combination of these was being installed in the greenbelts, it is now also being installed even in smaller parks.

It has been approved that the equipment is to be installed in all wards. The idea taking shape is that since the equipment is already being installed, if certain modifications are made it can be used for producing power to sustain the energy requirement of parks and greenbelts where these are present.

The city has a large number of parks and greenbelts. Most of these have numerous lights installed. If the energy requirement of these parks is met, it would save electricity that can be diverted to residential areas where the demand is high.