12 Kolkata roads to get 24 EV parking slots with charging infra this June

KOLKATA: The city will get exclusive parking slots that are reserved for electric cars this June. In 12 parking lots on roads like Rabindra Sarani, Chittaranjan Avenue, AJC Bose Road, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, CIT Road (Park Circus), Kyd Street, Rabindra Sarobar and Paharpur Road (Garden Reach), at least 24 slots will be reserved for EVs. There are 154 parking slots in these 12 parking lots.

Civic officials said this is just the first phase of the initiative aimed at promoting EVs by reserving parking space and providing charging facility at these lots.“This is a pilot project. More will follow in the next phase,” said a Kolkata Municipal Corporation parking department official.

KMC has signed an agreement for the charging stations and parking lots with e-mobility service provider Snap E on Tuesday. The latter has a fleet of 400 e-cabs and it requires charging stations across the city. Another 400 e-cabs are set to be added to the fleet this year.
According to the five-year pact, the civic body will provide space for installation of the charging stations and will earn a part of the revenue generated once the facilities are operational. While Snap E has been allowed to levy Rs 12-Rs 15 per kW unit as charging fee from EV owners, KMC will earn Rs 1.2 per unit from the deal.
The firm will install two categories of charging stations — fast and slow. While the fast charging stations will be able to fulfil charging requirements of an EV car in an hour, the slow charging stations will take seven-eight hours and will be used primarily at night.
Snap E has already set up some dedicated charging hubs in Sector V, Rajarhat and Kidderpore for its fleet of 400 e-cabs. Company chief operating officer (COO) and co-founder Jayadip Mukherjee said each hub is capable of charging 100-150 cabs at night by using slow chargers. Each of them also had 25-30 fast chargers.“A facility on VIP Road is under testing. Two others are being set up at Hyde Road and Howrah,” said Mukherjee.