Belarus planning to supply electric buses to Bengal

Kolkata: Ensuring eco-friendly transport services for city dwellers, Belarus is mulling to supply electric buses to Bengal.

"We are planning to supply electric buses to Bengal. I had an informal meeting with the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) managing director Narayan Swaroop Nigam," said H E Andrei Rzheussky, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to India, during a press conference.

While Belarus is known for manufacturing designed trucks, buses, trolley buses and trams, the Bengal government is already running electric buses in Kolkata. The operation of electric buses is mostly confined to intracity and the state Transport department has decided to run more such buses across the state. "We are waiting for the state Transport department to issue new tender for electric buses. We will bid for it then and supply the vehicles accordingly," said Sitaram Sharma, the Honorary Consul of Belarus in Kolkata.

He reiterated that the state Transport department will not buy directly from Belarus. The buying process of electric buses will involve three parties — suppliers, financial party (private parties or development banks) and operators. At present, 80 electric buses are plying across the city and more will be introduced soon. There are 55 charging stations across the state.

While electric buses can store the electricity on board or can be fed continuously from an external source, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning to come up with Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in collaboration with the CESC. The KMC is planning to set up such charging stations in spaces under flyovers or parking lots.