80 electric buses will ply in Kolkata ahead of Durga Puja: CM

Kolkata: Eighty electric buses will be introduced in Kolkata and its adjoining areas ahead of Durga Puja.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "Eighty electric buses will start operating in the state before Durga Puja. It will be a Durga Puja gift to the city dwellers." The buses will be plying on different routes in the city and it will bring down the level of pollution.

Initially, the state transport department was in search of a solution to recharge the batteries of electric buses.

Some of the electric buses are 9 metres in length and there will be a seating capacity of around 30, while the remaining buses are 12 metres in length, with a seating capacity of 40.

Moreover, there will also be sufficient space to stand while travelling if there is no vacant seat in the buses.

With introduction of the electric buses, the total number of buses in the city and its surrounding areas will go up and it will be of great help to the common people in Kolkata and its suburbs.

Senior officials of the department held discussions over the issue and decided that the buses will be recharged in the depots of the transport corporations.

As a result, decision was taken to install 30 battery chargers at the depots, while 10 "fast battery chargers" will also be kept at different bus terminals. The "fast battery chargers" will take lesser time compared to the normal ones to recharge the batteries of the electric buses.

The electric buses can be easily recharged at a short span of time in between one or two trips, using the "fast battery chargers".

HIDCO and Coal India have jointly procured three electric buses recently to ply on different routes in New Town.

It may be mentioned that the state Transport department is giving all support for the promotion of electric vehicles, in a bid to ensure an environment-friendly transport system in Bengal.

With promotion of the electric vehicles, Kolkata becomes the third city after Mysore and Hyderabad, where the facility of taking e-cars on rent for self-drive purpose has been launched.