Governor launches battery operated carts in sector 17 plaza

Chandigarh, January 20:- Sh. V.P. Singh Badnore, Governor, Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh today launched battery operated carts in sector 17 plaza in presence of Sh. Manoj Parida, IAS, Adviser to the Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Smt. Raj Bala Malik, Mayor, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, IAS, Principal Secretary Home, Sh. K.K. Yadav, IAS, Commissioner, MCC and Sh. N.P. Sharma, CGM, Chandigarh Smart City Ltd.

While sharing information about the carts, Sh. K.K. Yadav said that with a vision for encouraging public safety and security for the people of the city which is essential to achieve the goal of making the city liveable with a safe transportation system, the project battery operated carts for elderly and differently abled has been completed at the cost of Rs. 47 lacs.

He said that one of the basic goals was to introduce a model of sustainability and low-carbon mobility options with innovative transportation solutions ensuring last-mile connectivity (through battery operated vehicles, public bike sharing programmes), elderly & handicap friendly public spaces. He said that it was envisaged that with the introduction this facility for elderly and differently abled visitors will ease their movement within market area will be further simplified.

He said that the aims to provide seamless connectivity in the city centre of sector 17 by substituting it with non-polluting and non-motorized public transport. This service will be more focused in ensuring comfort and convenience to population belonging to certain demographic profile, however, it will play a major role in enhancing the mobility at large in the city centre and a different experience for people visiting sector 17, he added.

He said that the service of battery operated carts is free of cost and will help in improving the accessibility in the plaza space for elderly and differently abled and ferry them around the market area based on their requirement. The service hours are from 8 am to 8 pm. These carts were enabled with GPS tracking, LED screen, speakers, magazine holder for information dissemination related to initiatives/important information by various government institutions.

The Carts engaged in this services have safety features such as fire extinguisher, first aid kit and speed governor to regulate the speed of the cart to less than 20 Kmph to ensure safety of the pedestrians. Additionally, the project can be scaled up to serve the purpose of feeder services from bus stop to important destinations. Furthermore, the same can be interlinked with CTU service through mobile based applications.