Odisha CM flags off electric buses and e-autos for Bhubaneswar city

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik flagged off 10 electric buses and 50 electric rickshaws for Bhubaneswar to reduce carbon emissions in the city. Patnaik shared these electric vehicles will promote sustainable mobility and the idea of ‘Sabuja Odisha.’ From 10, the number of electric buses will go up to 50 in the future and the state government will also focus on employing women in the operational process of these EVs.

At present, these 10 electric buses have 30 seats each, out of which those reserved for women have been marked in pink, added an official. One can avail a free ride in these electric buses till July 31.

Last year in August, Odisha became the tenth state to announce its electric vehicle policy. The Odisha EV policy focuses on promoting electric mobility in the state along with an aim to turn it into an EV manufacturing hub. This will enable innovation and facilitate research and development in the areas related to EVs and batteries, as stated by an official back then.

In the policy, Odisha has set a goal to reduce the usage of fossil fuels to bring down pollution. It is also aiming to attain 20 per cent registration of battery-operated electric vehicles out of the total vehicular registration by 2025. An earlier report stated a Neeti Aayog report according to which Odisha has a total fleet of 4,831 electric vehicles on road. And owing to the less number of EVs, there are only 18 charging stations at present in the state.

Odisha government, this year, had also announced that it will provide a 15 per cent subsidy on the purchase of electric vehicles. For electric two-wheelers, the subsidy will be 15 per cent of the cost, a maximum of ₹5,000. For electric three-wheelers, the subsidy will go up to ₹10,000 while for electric four-wheelers, the amount has been set at ₹50,000.

(With inputs from PTI)