In a step towards promoting electric vehicles on a large scale, the State Government is endeavouring to create adequate charging infrastructure in and around Shimla city so as to facilitate plying of e-buses in the city and make it a ‘Green City’ of the country. To begin with, the State Road Transport Corporation has started the process of setting up five new charging stations for 70 e-buses running in Shimla City. An amount of about Rs 3.63 crore has been deposited by the Corporation to the State Electricity Board for the installation of transformers for these charging stations.
This was stated by Chief Minister, Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today making it clear that the fleet of over 1500 buses of State Road Transport Corporation will be replaced with electric buses in a phased manner and for this adequate charging and related infrastructure will be created. New charging points will be set up at Taradevi, Tutikandi crossing, Lalpani, Junga and Theog in Shimla. This will provide adequate charging facilities to the buses plying within the 40 km radius of Shimla city. In addition to this, the capacity of the 1,000 KVA charging station installed at Dhalli will also be increased to 2,000 KVA.
The State Electricity Board will now provide transformers for all these charging stations. E-bus chargers will be installed as soon as the transformers are installed. After the new charging stations are established, the operation of e-buses will be started in a radius of 40 kilometers of the city. Under the Smart City Mission, 20 e-buses have been provided to Shimla city adding up its fleet from 50 to 70. Out of these six buses each has been provided to the New Shimla and Sanjauli sectors and eight buses have been provided to the bus stand sector. HRTC has also floated tenders for purchasing additional new electric buses.
Since all these 70-odd e-buses are plying on local routes within the city, the public transport system in the state capital will be fully transformed and it will help in keeping the pristine environment of Shimla city clean and pollution free. Sukhu said that the electric vehicle industry in India was multiplying and the State Government also had launched schemes and incentives to promote electric mobility in Himachal to ensure that the pristine environment of the State remains carbon-free of the ever increasing numbers of vehicles using fossil fuel. He said that the state government has taken many initiatives to install charging stations on National and State Highways and other prominent roads besides Shimla city and an enduring process for identification of land for it at the district level.
Red Cross Society Mandi Provides Financial Aid to Orphaned Children
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
