Sukhu says will do things in phased manner to convert public transport

Shimla: Aiming to convert public transport vehicles by 2025, the Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu government has hit a roadblock. The government now wants to go in a phased manner to convert all diesel and petrol vehicles in the state.

Early this month, the government replaced all vehicles of the state transport department with electric vehicles to send a message about the Chief Minister eyeing to turn Himachal Pradesh into a “green state” by 2025.

However, when it came to the state-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) which had decided to induct 300 new buses, the government faced a problem with the availability of the buses.

In Shimla, the HRTC has already introduced electric buses for the city on a pilot basis.

On Friday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presided over a review meeting of the transport department and he was told that the availability of the electric buses and their efficacy in the hills has not yet been tested. Moreover, the government is yet to set up charging stations and look out for mechanisms of maintenance and repairs.

Reports said though the transport department had allotted newly purchased vehicles to district officers but some of the places neither have charging stations nor wherewithal. Even the drivers are not fully trained to handle the vehicles.

The Chief Minister asked the transport authorities to convene meetings with the Electric Vehicle (EVs) auto manufacturers and to discuss the modalities of electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure for replacing the fleet of existing buses with electric ones.