E-rickshaws to get legal charging points

The Delhi government is soon going to provide authorised charging points for e-rickshaws across the city. The first site has already been identified at Raghubir Nagar in west Delhi.

In the past five years, e-rickshaws have mushroomed in the city as these vehicles provide the firstand last-mile connectivity to commuters at pocket-friendly rates. However, while Delhi has more than one lakh e-rickshaws, not a single authorised charging point is available anywhere in the city. As a result, unauthorised `garages' have cropped up that allow charging of e-rickshaws for a fee. These garages, mostly using domestic connections, generally take around Rs 100 for a single charging. Incidents of power thefts by e-rickshaw drivers and ow ners are also not unusual.

Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has given the land for the first official charging point at Raghubir Nagar, said a government official. "The request for land for setting up charging points first came from the power department," he added.

While the transport department is in talks with the power discoms to provide charging facilities, a major challenge is to find the land where e-rickshaws can be parked during charging.Hence, the department is looking at unconventional solutions like covering up drains to set up charging points over them. "No heavy construc tion can be done on covered drains but since e-rickshaws are light vehicles, there should not be any problem," the official said.

Selected authorised parking lots can also double up as overnight charging points for e-rickshaws, said sources. These charging points will also require the government to fix a separate tariff for the same.

There have been instances of people getting electrocuted at unauthorised charging points. In November, three people were charred and 10 got injured in Shahdara'a Mohan Park after an e-rickshaw being charged in a building caught fire.