Keeping pace with the technological advancement the Jammu & Kashmir Government is focusing on easing passenger transport facilities in Jammu & Kashmir, So for So good but still much remains to be done for extension of the facilities of electric vehicles to major towns and rural areas in Jammu & Kashmir. The introduction of e-buses and e-rickshaws has though eased the travel in the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu but the extension of such transport facilities is yet to reach major towns and rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir. While the committee recently set up by the Government for devising a comprehensive electric vehicle policy is mandated to focus on developing charging infrastructure at district, sub division and tehsil levels,, wisdom demands that Government puts on agenda of the committee the extension of the facilities of both e-buses and e-rickshaws to major towns and rural areas of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. The committee set up by the Government for devising a comprehensive electric vehicle policy can explore the possibilities of phase wise extension of the services of e-buses and e-rickshaws the way Government explored the possibilities of the operation of electric vehicles with the introduction 100 e-buses in the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu. Interestingly the e-rickshaws introduced few months back in twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu are running only on few city routes in Srinagar and as such are yet to be introduced on many key city routes like Airport road and the roads leading to two main railway stations in Srinagar and Budgam. Fortunately Government has started e-cart services from the main gate of the Srinagar Airport to some city centre areas on no less important an occasion than the operation of Hajj flights from Srinagar Airport to Saudi Arabia which has eased the travel of those accompanying Hajj pilgrims to Srinagar Airport besides the tourist arriving Srinagar airport dally in thousands.
“With extension of the services of e-buses and e-rickshaws to all city routes both in Srinagar and Jammu the twin capital cities remaining a bigger challenge for the Government, the extension of the services of e-buses and e-rickshaws to major towns and rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir is as bigger a challenge as is the availability of charging infrastructure for growth and expansion of electric vehicles in Jammu & Kashmir”.
Though expanding the charging infrastructure facilities down to districts and tehsils would surely ease the expansion of the facilities of e-rickshaws and e-buses to major towns and rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir but expanding the charging infrastructure without expanding the services of e- buses and e-rickshaws to major towns and rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir brings into question the wisdom of the policy makers and planners tasked the job of promoting e-transport services in Jammu & Kashmir like several key states and union territories of the country. With extension of the services of e-buses and e-rickshaws to all city routes both in Srinagar and Jammu the twin capital cities remaining a bigger challenge for the Government, the extension of the services of e-buses and e-rickshaws to major towns and rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir is as bigger a challenge as is the availability of charging infrastructure for growth and expansion of electric vehicles in Jammu & Kashmir.
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