The windmill put up by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) with much fanfare lost its fan leaves on day one.
The windmill, set up at a cost of Rs. 3.90 lakh, was inaugurated by Hibi Eden, MLA, in the presence of District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareeth on Friday. By Saturday morning, the windmill’s fan had fallen down.
However, N.Venugopal, GCDA Chairman denied that the fan had fallen down. When the fan was placed on the original shaft, it was found slightly short of length and hence, the fan blades were scraping against the pillar. So, an additional 6-foot tube was attached to the pillar on which the fan was temporarily fixed, Mr. Venugopal said.
The authority had gone ahead with the inauguration as planned despite the technical snag, but the company that set up the windmill was asked to take down the fan and fix it properly, he said, adding that one of the leaves of the fan got damaged when it was being brought down on Saturday.
The windmill was set up by United Electricals, Kollam, a public limited company under the State government.
The windmill was supposed to generate 10.5 kW of power daily and charge 100 lights along the new Marine Drive walkway from its northern end up to Kinco jetty.
The turbine used in the windmill was brought from Gujarat. “The contract was that the payment will be made only after these 100 lights are lit using the power generated by the windmill, which is yet to happen. We are told that the fans will be placed back with proper reinforcements by Sunday evening,” said Mr. Venugopal.
The GCDA is planning to put up a similar windmill at Rajendra Maidan, if this is found successful.
