The construction of charging stations and operation of electric buses, a programme under the pride project, which was planned by the Bagmati Province government in the initial years, is becoming a non-priority in the policy, programme, and budget of the coming fiscal year.

With the change of the province government, the operation of electric vehicles has not been given priority and the budget allocated in the current fiscal year has not been spent.

However, private companies are working to make the highway environment-friendly and the number of electric vehicles on the BP Highway is increasing.

Currently, altogether, 32 electric vehicles are operating on the Highway.

Since more than 4,000 diesel and petrol-run vehicles have been operating on the BP Highway every day, the introduction of electric vehicles as an alternative is becoming successful.

According to the transport operators, 30 public vehicles with a capacity of 10 seats by Digo Company and two public vehicles with a capacity of 19 seats by Sundar Yatayat have been brought into operation on the BP Highway.

Tanka Karki, a resident of Kamalamai Municipality-6, said that he has been operating two electric vehicles of Digo Company under Chahana Transport for eight months. He said that electric vehicles are more environment-friendly than diesel and petrol vehicles.

Karki says that the attraction of transport entrepreneurs towards electric vehicles has been increasing in recent times as there will be less damage compared to other vehicles and no fuel is required. He says, "There are 32 electric vehicles in operation in Sindhuli."

The number of electric vehicles is increasing. Problems are also surfacing. The crown deteriorates in two months. The electric vehicles have become more expensive than petrol-run ones as they cost Rs 1.5 lakh to replace the crown, he added.

He has complained that the cost had increased as the parts for repairing the electric vehicles had not arrived and if they broke down, the company would replace with parts from the new vehicle.

Electric vehicles currently operating only on blacktop roads

Harikrishna Budhathoki, another operator of electric vehicles, informed that electric vehicle won't operate anywhere like other diesel-, petrol-run vehicles.

He said, "Electric vehicles do operate on unpaved roads. Another problem is that there is a charging centre only at Hotel Mayur in Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-5 Ramtar and Red Chilli Hotel in Sindhulimadhi, which is located at a distance of 160 km along the BP highway.

He said that the company has provided a small charger for the car so it can be charged at home. Budhathoki suggests that there should be four or five more charging stations in the middle of the BP Highway.

According to Ram Hari Paudel, who has been operating a charging station in Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-5 Ramtar for the past year, even though there are 32 electric vehicles operating on the BP Highway, he has been recharging 41 to 42 vehicles daily from morning to evening.

He claims that electric vehicles are charged Rs. 15 per unit and it costs 99 per cent less than diesel petrol.

According to him, it takes half an hour to recharge a vehicle. Although a 120 kW capacity charger has been installed in the charging station, up to three vehicles are now being recharged from three nozzles at a time at 60 kW capacity.

Paudel informed that he has invested Rs. 1.7 million at 50 per cent grant from the Digo Company and installed the charger. "I have connected 30-30 kW nozzles in 60 kW. Although it is possible to connect a nozzle at a capacity of 60 kg at a time, the current electric vehicle has a capacity of 42 kW and has to use a 30 kW nozzle," he informed.