TIRUCHY: The kitchen at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) has begun experimenting with alternative cooking methods to reduce dependence on LPG and ensure a steady food supply for patients, even as the hospital currently has adequate gas stock.
MGMGH on Friday carried out a trial run of two electric coil stoves developed in-house for cooking, which will be used regularly from Saturday after receiving clearance from the assistant executive engineer of PWD. Industrial electric cooking pans are also used in the kitchen to make dosa and chapathis.
Plans are underway to procure an electric rice-boiling unit, which could further ease pressure on LPG consumption in the large-scale kitchen. Firewood has also been kept ready as a contingency measure, sources said.
Hospital officials said the central kitchen prepares around 4,300 meals a day for inpatients -- 1,450 meals each in morning, afternoon and night. Despite disruption in LPG supply in parts of the district, the menu for inpatients has not been altered as yet.
"At present, the hospital kitchen and hostels of KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College together have 31 LPG cylinders in stock. On average, we use three to four cylinders a day, and the available stock should be sufficient for now," said Dean S Kumaravel. He added that the hospital has begun introducing alternative cooking arrangements so that dependence on LPG could be reduced if the disruption continued.
GH officials also said the LPG supply situation was reviewed during a coordination meeting between the district administration and gas agencies on Thursday, followed by another meeting with the health department on Friday. Hospitals have been given priority in LPG allocation, officials said.
At KAPV medical college hostels, kitchen operations have been streamlined -- cooking is being done in only one of its two facilities to reduce fuel use. The hostel menu has been simplified with the approval of students, and mixed rice has replaced sambar, rasam and vegetables, officials added.
The LPG issue has also begun to affect small establishments functioning on the hospital campus. Ashok, who runs a tea stall inside, said he has switched to an induction stove to continue preparing tea and hot water, which remain in high demand among patients and attendants. "We managed to arrange an induction stove for now. But we don't know how long we can run like this," he said.
Meanwhile, an Aavin milk parlour outside the hospital remained closed on Friday.
With some eateries around the hospital likely to exhaust their LPG stocks in the next two to three days, attendants accompanying patients could be seen depending on food distributed by NGOs outside the hospital.