Skip to main content

SOLAR POWERED VEHICLES IN SUNDARBANS

To protect the ecologically-fragile islands of Sundarbans from noise and air pollution caused by motorised 'jugaad' vans, an alternative public transport model has been built using solar-powered electric vehicles. Research body 'The Energy and Resources Institute' (TERI) and Paris-based Mlinda Foundation has developed the new model under which 50 solar vehicles would soon be launched in Patharpratima block of Sundarbans with consent from the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA). Locally known as 'Vano', the motorised rickshaw vans are so far the only form of public transport available for 40 lakh people living in the Sundarbans delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site three-hours drive away from Kolkata. Assembled with improvised arrangements, also known as 'jugaad' technology, it is powered by a diesel engine that uses an adulterated mixture of diesel, kerosene, naphtha, used engine oil, etc which gives out highly polluting emissions. Under the pilot project, TERI would roll out 50 solar vehicles made by Tata Motors along with two solar PV based charging stations in a fringe island of the Sundarbans. "This electric rickshaw can accommodate eight people and after getting charged with solar energy for 4-5 hours at the station, the 20 Ah battery can run for 40-50 kms in a day," TERI's Parimita Mohanty told PTI. The charging station would be equivalent of a petrol pump and its 500W of solar module would charge the rickshaws. Once the project is successfully demonstrated in the first phase, TERI would engage social entrepreneurs to scale up the model in Sundarbans. "We want to make it a commercially viable model as we will ask the rickshaw operators to buy the vehicles," Mohanty said. The cost of the solar rickshaw would be around Rs 4-5 lakh while the charging station would cost around a lakh. "We did a trial study with two such vehicles for three months to understand how these rickshaws can be run in the region after which we came up with this model," the TERI researcher said. Besides zero emissions, the solar vehicles would be noiseless too. 
The engine of 'jugaad' vans are notorious for creating noise pollution as they disturb birds and marine life while plying along the river banks. Home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, the archipelago of Sundarbans is known for its rich wildlife and mangrove forests. A baseline study by Mlinda Foundation estimates there are around 19000 such 'jugaad' vans in the entire Sundarbans. "The carbon content is very high in the adulterated diesel they use and therefore these vans are the major source of pollution inside Sundarbans," Mohanty said. For locals and tourists who venture into the villages, these vans are also risky and uncomfortable. Absence of 'pucca' roads is another issue as it is estimated that only about 300 km of metalled road exists in the entire area of about 4500 sq km of Sundarbans. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

AIYAR GOT MAD

Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question

FATHER OF NATION'S ORIGINAL PHOTO

MUMBAI METRO RECORD

Over 10 lakh commuters travelled on the city's first Mero, which covers the 11.4 km-long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor, in the 59 hours since the commencement of its services on June 8. "Today, till 4.30 pm, metro has crossed the one million mark of ridership that it achieved within 59 hours of operation since inception of commercial operation," a release from Mumbai Metro One, an arm of Reliance Infrastructure, said. This is the only Metro in the country that carries an average of 1,487 commuters per km per hour, it added. "Precisely, it carries almost double the number of commuters every day as compared to Delhi Metro. This proves the overwhelming acceptance of Mumbai Metro by the people." The company has offered a promotional fare of Rs 10 for the first 30 days irrespective of the distance travelled.