BENGALURU: For a long time, e-vehicle riders have fretted over commuting long distances due to lack of charging facilities. But now, using e-vehicles will be easier as electric charging points will soon be installed in all commercial buildings and shopping malls in the city.
During his recent meeting with various government departments, chief secretary of Karnataka T M Vijay Bhaskar instructed officials from Bangalore Electricity supply company (BESCOM)and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to provide space for the electric charging vehicles stations in shopping malls and commercial complexes to promote e-vehicles in the city.
With this, the BBMP has also been asked to include certain amendments in Karnataka Municipal Council (KMC) Act to make it mandatory to have e-vehicle charging stations in all commercial complexes and shopping malls while issuing trade licences.
Speaking to CE, an official from BBMP said, “Though various government departments are promoting e-vehicles, it hasn't been that successful as electric vehicles cannot be ridden for long distances due to the limited mileage they give. But by installing charging stations in shopping malls and complexes, we can ensure the infrastructural facilities for those who want to use e-vehicles,” he said.Another official from BBMP said, “We can expect all the commercial buildings to be installed with such charging points by next year," he said.
Ashwin Mahesh, civic expert and co-founder of Lithium Urban Technologies, the first company to create an electric vehicle (EV) fleet in India said, “At the moment the EV ecosystem is still in the nascent stage. There is a lot of variation between vehicles as well as the technologies they are based on. Once these things get standardised and the technology improves, we will be able to scale bigger in this matter. Moreover, the economics of the industry will also be better understood when we reach a certain scale. Once that happens, the subsequent growth will be rapid,” he said.