State government launches electric vehicles for garbage disposal
VIJAYAWADA: In a first of its kind in the country, the State government has adopted smart and electric vehicles for garbage disposal under Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) limits.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Monday inaugurated the deployment of emission free electric auto-rickshaws with advanced hydraulic disposal system.
The vehicles have been supplied to the government by an electric vehicle manufacturing start-up, Gayam Motor Works.Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that waste management is an important requirement for sustainable ecological development and admitted that current operating standards have proven inefficient and highly resource-intensive.
“Although waste management services exist nearly in every community, it could not achieve the desired results. The inefficiency is largely due to the outdated manual collection methods and logistical processes which lack efficient data-driven solutions. In this regard, we have brought energy efficient electric auto rickshaw that can save around Rs 3.2 lakh per one vehicle in five years,” said Naidu.
“The city’s waste management system can now be monitored from a single location by officials at Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC). Our fleet of electric vehicles communicate real-time status to actionable web-based software. Communities benefit from optimized operations, beautified public spaces & reduced carbon footprint,” said VMC Commissioner J Nivas.
Garbage: no longer a menace
With integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, municipal supervisors can now track several aspects such as waste pick up points, vehicle routes and disposal alerts from a single dashboard.
This will improve per vehicle productivity, reduce non- compliance, eliminate manual tracking for monitoring and escalation.
Replacing diesel autos with electric autos also mean zero fuel consumption and zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Each diesel auto replaced will reduce about 35 tons of carbon emissions over 5 years. Around 200,000 tons of carbon emissions can be reduced by replacing 5000+ municipal disposal vehicles with electric vehicles.