Come September, and the people of the city will be able to get a sneak peek into the world of environment-friendly vehicles. The state government with concerted efforts of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) is working on schemes to organise an ‘Electric Vehicles Carnival’ in the month of September.

The carnival is to be held on 24, 25 and 26 September at Eco Park. Giant automobile companies are likely to participate in the eco-friendly vehicles carnival. According to sources, the state government is eying for 10 lakh electric vehicles including all segments by the end of the year 2022. However, the number of such environment-friendly vehicles in the state is fewer and requires particular focus for reaching the targeted count.

The carnival, according to official sources in NKDA, is being planned to create awareness about electric vehicles (EVs) and their benefits and ensure higher use of EVs in the state. “The NKDA area has eight charging stations and the same are to be mapped onto Google Map at the earliest. The NKDA is putting efforts to create an ecosystem alliance with private mobility players, aggregators, government entities to develop a ‘Centre of Excellence for EVs,” informed an official.

“Plans are also being worked out to hold an Electric Vehicle Rally this winter in the month of December,” he added. Notably, like the recently rolled out dual-engine buses, the state government is now exploring options of retrofitting existing vehicles from diesel to electric and developing conversion kits. The authorities are also weighing alternatives of promoting e-taxis and electric car-sharing schemes in the city, like the ones now being operated in Bangalore now.

The state authorities are also considering forming a subcommittee for strategizing on outreach for EVs and having an alliance with British companies for knowledge exchange, wireless charging of EVs and battery swapping technology.

Meanwhile, the state Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources Department has extended its support and is mulling over developing charging infrastructure at intervals of 25 km across the National Highways.