MUMBAI: A world record was set as more than 5,000 solar lamps with LED lights were lit up simultaneously at IIT-Bombay on Tuesday, on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

More than 1.25 lakh students participated in the event-—Solar Urja Lamp (SoUL)-an IIT-Bombay initiative—that was held in 850 schools across the country. Out of the 1.25 lakh lamps assembled across the country, 5,700 were made at the IIT-Bombay campus. 

Guinness World Records certified the event that was organised by the ministry of new and renewable energy, IIT-B, State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLM), SoUL and Techfest. The exact number of LED lights will be declared later after verification, said an official, adding that the the previous record was set in 2016, when 1,590 lamps were lit.

“Once the students understand the importance of saving energy, it will help us spread the word faster and create awareness,” said Chetan Singh Solanki, professor at the department of energy science and engineering and SoUL founder.

Chief guest scientist Anil Kakodkar, former chairperson of atomic energy commission, said, “Like Gandhi’s charkha was the soul of the freedom struggle, these solar lamps are important to spread the message of solar, renewable energy,”

School education minister, Vinod Tawde, said, “Students could be given extra marks if they made efforts to reduce carbon footprints,” he said.