State gets nod for 150 electric buses
Inter-state service to also cover areas such as Haldia & Asansol
Kolkata: State Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday that the state has got approval to run another 150 electric buses under Fame II scheme.
The electric buses will ply not only in Kolkata and its adjoining area but there will be interstate services which will cover areas like Haldia, Asansol to name a few.
"We have already introduced 40 electric buses which are now running in different routes in Kolkata. Another 40 will be rolled out soon. This will cut down carbon emissions and reduce pollution in the city," said state Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari in response to a query from Trinamool Congress MLA Gita Rani Bhuniya at the state Assembly on Friday.
Adhikari said the state is also coming up with charging stations across the state to promote electric vehicles for personal use. "All depots of West Bengal Transport Corporation located in Tollygunge, Kidderpore, Kasba, Gariahat, Park Circus, Rajabazar, Lake Gardens, Belgachia, Nabanna, Santragachi etc have been provided with electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Some private organisations are also setting up facilities of electric vehicle charging in the city," he added.
It may be mentioned that Minister for Heavy Industries Arjun Ram Meghwal had said on Thursday that Kolkata will soon get 100 electric buses from the Central government as part of efforts to promote such vehicles.
It may be mentioned that under Fame II scheme the centre will invest in setting up charging stations, with the active participation of public sector units and private players.
It has also been proposed to provide one slow-charging unit for every electric bus and one fast-charging station for 10 electric buses. Projects for charging infrastructure will include those needed to extend electrification for running vehicles such as pantograph charging and flash charging.
"A number of states in the country had got approval from the Centre to roll out electric vehicles under Fame I but most of them have failed to do so. States like Bihar, Assam and Tripura and some others have accepted Kolkata's model of rolling out electric buses under Fame I," Adhikari said.
A team from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal had also turned up in the state recently to get an idea of how Bengal has successfully implemented electric vehicles in the state.
