It will be monsoon with sunny side up for Chakradharpur railway station under South Eastern Railway (SER) zone. The station in West Singhbhum is all set to become the first green station of the state by this July.

The B-category railway station, which falls under Howrah-Mumbai main line, has set a July deadline to install solar panels and energy-saving LEDs. Worth around Rs 45 lakh, the project will help reduce energy bill by about half, station authorities have said.

Chakradharpur railway division has assigned the job of making the station solar-powered to M/s Vinod Constructions, a Ranchi-based private agency. The private firm will install solar panels of 40KW to light up offices, waiting hall, waiting rooms, retiring rooms and toilets apart from three platforms (platform 1 and two other island platforms).

The electrical wing of Chakradharpur railway division will supervise the installation work of solar panels and LED lights.

Officials at Garden Reach, SER headquarters in Calcutta, said such an initiative in the first in any railway stations under Chakradharpur division.

"With the installation of solar panels, station lighting and fans would work on solar power. The state electric supply (Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited) will be a standby source, which can be used in case of any failure in the solar system," said a spokesperson of South Eastern Railway.

Chakradharpur railway division is one of the four railway divisions under the SER zone of Indian Railways. The railway division was formed on April 14, 1952, and is headquartered at Chakradharpur in West Singhbhum.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur Satyam Prakash said: "We have selected Chakradharpur for the solar power project as it is the divisional headquarters.

The senior railway official said around Rs 30 lakh will be spent to install solar panels while the rest of the sum to put up LED lights. "Power generated by solar panels will be able to light up the station premises for 12-15 hours," Prakash said.

Currently, Chakradharpur railway station gets power supply from Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (JUVNL) and also has a stand-by diesel generator. Platforms at the station, offices , waiting area and toilets are fitted with tube-lights that inflates energy bill.

"Every year, we will select a new railway station under the division to implement the solar project. Next year, we will introduce it in the A-category Jharsuguda railway station," Prakash added.