Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to introduce 24 electric vehicles

Vijayawada: To protect the environment, as per the directions of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) will introduce 24 electric vehicles before December.

According to the sources, the main objective of introducing EVs was to control pollution levels in the city and to cut down the use of petrol and diesel.

VMC Superintendent Engineer J V Rama Krishna said that all the EVs will be supplied through Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL). Speaking to The Hans India, Rama Krishna said, EESL would supply EVs to the VMC in November to replace the existing vehicles as part of reducing expenditure on fuel. He said that about 10 EVs are ready for delivery and will be allocated to the officials in a few days.

The entire amount for the EVs will be borne by the VMC and Rs 20, 000 per vehicle will be paid to EESL for 72 months as EMIs. Currently, the VMC was hiring nearly 30 vehicles and spending nearly Rs 35,000 per month on each vehicle as fuel, he said.

VMC Vehicle Depot, Executive Engineer ASN Prasad said the idea behind introducing the electric cars for the officials in the city was to create awareness among public and to protect the environment from pollution.

Prasad also said initially the DC charging stations will be installed at the VMC premises and later at the residences of the officers. "In course of time, they will be extended to a few more places on the VMC premises", he added.

He said a fully charged vehicle can travel up to 120 kilometres and the DC charging station would charge the vehicle in one-and-half-hours time. However, the AC charging would take about 6 hours, he said.

He said the electric cars are not harmful to the environment with zero per cent emissions into the atmosphere. The temperature levels would be under the control and at the same time, the electric cars would bring down pollution levels, safeguard the natural resources and reduce the global warming, he added.

The economic position of the nation will improve with reduction in usage of fuels, he further said and added the EVs are the only solution to address the pollution problem in the society.