In line with Govt. of West Bengal’s push to accelerate the adoption and use of Electric-mobility in the State, India’s biggest eco-friendly Electric Vehicle Technology Expo ‘16th EVEXPO 2022′ is set to begin on December 9 at Hall A of Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Kolkata. The 3-day event shall showcase the latest and technologically advanced, pollution-free 2, 3 & 4 wheeled e-vehicles, parts and accessories, charging solutions, and technology from around 100 exhibitors. These events are major attractions of The Government of West Bengal’s E-mobility Week being observed from December 7-11, 2022.
A press conference was organized to announce the various initiative and activities in Kolkata,
which was addressed by Mr. S Suresh Kumar, Addl. Chief Secy; Mr. Somnath Dey, Spl. commissioner, KMC, Mr. Prosenjit Hans, Sr. Spl. Secy, Transport Department, Mr. Anuj Sharma, President, Electric vehicle Federation, and Founder EV EXPO & Mr. Rajiv Arora, Organiser EV Expo.
The Govt. of West Bengal, in association with the EV Expo, is also organizing World’s First EV Rally on 10th December 2022. The EV Rally shall begin at 7:00 am from Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan and after traveling through Park Street, Queens Road, and Princep Ghat shall conclude at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan itself. The aim of the EV Rally is to promote awareness about electric vehicles, clear doubt’s in people’s minds about their range, and encourage citizens to adopt and use electric vehicles in the State. This EV Rally also aims to create two Limca Books of records in the category of EVs which are-
- MaximumNumber of Electrical Vehicles running together in India.
- MaximumNumber of People traveling together by Electric Vehicle in India.
The EV Rally shall witness the participation of 720 EV Drivers and 3300+ EV Passengers with around-
- 20Electric Buses with 800 passengers.
- 300E-Rickshaw with around 2000 passengers.
- Around 100Electric Cars with 400 passengers.
- Around 100Electric Two-wheelers with 100 pillion riders.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. S Suresh Kumar, Addl. Chief Secy, Power & NRES said “People are not able to buy EVs because of high cost and lack of charging infrastructure. To change the mindset and remove confusion in minds of people about EVs, we have partnered with a private agency to bring the EV Expo to Kolkata. Various Govt depts like Power, Transport, Environment, KMC, Technical Education and Training & ICE dept. etc have come to work together to improve the situation regarding EVs in the State. Oil companies have been given the mandate to set up the charging front-ends and Govt shall handle the backend like Power etc. We shall be setting up 849 EV charging stations with one station every 25Kms on the 4-lane highways and 1 Charging station within a 3 sq KM area. This will remove doubts and anxiety regarding EVs. We hope to set up 1000 charging stations in the next 2 years.“
Mr. Anuj Sharma, President, of the Electric vehicle Federation and Founder of EV Expo said “West Bengal has the second largest population of E vehicles after Uttar Pradesh. As the State is reaching a population of 10 crores, I believe that the EV industry shall become a major employment provider in the state. We have spoken to the WB State Govt to create an Industrial Development Zone -Like an EV park that will have manufacturers of various accessories/parts of EVs in the same zone. We want to see that out of all States, West Bengal should meet its EV target before anyone else, and with the Vision of Mr. Suresh Kumar and the cooperation of various other departments, we shall be working to ensure the same.”
Mr. Rajiv Arora, Organizer, of the 16th EV EXPO 2022 said “Govt. of West Bengal has the vision to encourage the rapid adoption of Electric Vehicles and approached us to organize the 16th EV Expo in Kolkata. We organized 3 editions of the EV Expo in Kolkata earlier and now we have added an EV Rally which will be on 10th December and a conference on all 3 days of the EV Expo as well. These activities will promote awareness of EVs and highlight their advantages. People visiting the EV Expo are going to witness a number of exciting and innovative E-mobility solutions, accessories as well as charging technology and services covering the entire spectrum of the EV industry.”
A number of talks/panel discussions in association with various West Bengal Govt departments shall also be held as part of the 3-day conference during the EV Expo. The wide-ranging topics would cover various aspects of the EV ecosystem, challenges, and opportunities for the EV industry in the State.
Around 100 Indian & International exhibitors including Hyundai, Tata Motors, Excide Industries, etc. are showcasing their technologically advanced, pollution-free 2,3,& 4 wheeled e-vehicles like E-Rickshaws, E-Carts, E-bikes, E-scooters, E-bicycles, E-Loaders as well as 4 wheeled vehicles like E-buses at 16th EV-EXPO 2022. The latest Lithium-ion batteries, charging solutions, vehicle components, and accessories are also going to be showcased at the Expo.
