Vatavaran Foundation Files Online Petition Demanding BEST Buses Running On Solar Energy

The foundation stated that the demand has risen to avoid a situation similar to the people in Delhi are facing due to air pollution

Over the last few months, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has been making relentless efforts to become an efficient mode of public transport and as a result, it has witnessed a gradual and consistent increase in its daily ridership. Previously, the bus company had brought down its fare prices to a bare minimum of ₹5 for non-AC whereas ₹6 for AC buses.

As the move seemed to work for BEST, the transport wing decided to go environment-friendly and introduced buses running on electricity. The buses were introduced to reduce air pollution and were an alternative for diesel-powered buses.

However, in order to restrict pollution to a bare minimum Vatavaran Foundation filed an online petition demanding that the BEST buses must run utilising solar energy. The foundation stated that the demand has risen to avoid a situation similar to the people in Delhi are
facing due to air pollution.

Currently, Delhi had been engulfed in polluted and the situation has deteriorated to an extent where people had to wear masks to breathe outside their houses. While the situation in Mumbai might never escalate to that extent, but the foundation attempts to indicate, ‘Precaution is better than cure’.

The foundation further revealed that in the last five years, there has been a significant rise in the number of private vehicles on Mumbai roads, i.e. 56 per cent.

According to Vatavaran Foundation, the move to introduce BEST buses running on electricity is a welcome move. But they claimed that the chargers for the buses are powered using coal. Therefore, they demanded that the bus company must introduce buses running on solar energy.

Source: mumbailive