A town in Himachal Pradesh called Kaza, now holds the pride of stationing the world’s highest electric vehicle(EV) charging station in hopes to uphold and promote a sustainable environment.

The two EV chargers for two and four-wheelers set up by a Pune-based company called goEgoNetwork, they had established the station after coming across numerous complaints from tourists who complained about the lack of EV charging stations in Spiti Valley, says Subdivisional Magistrate Mahender Partap Singh.

In fact, during the day of its inauguration, two women who are said to have driven an EV, are seen as a way of promoting a sustainable environment. One among them who rode an EV from Manali to Kaza, says that every product including the chargers in this station are built indigenously, meaning they are specifically manufactured in India. Considering how drastically warm the summers are and the bone chilling winters added with emissions of vehicles make the pollution levels rise at an alarming rate, adds the magistrate.

Covering a distance of 320 km from Manali to Kaza, the two women said that their e-scooters had not encountered any problems during their journey of crossing the Kunzum Pass.

Thrilled by breaking the myths over EVs not being able to cover longer distances, the two women expressed that they not only covered 320 km but assured that their ride was comfortable as well.

EVs both two- and four-wheelers, may become more popular in the future if the Ladakh government provides more EV charging stations along popular roadways.

Back to the EV charging station which is positioned at a height of 3,720 metres, is deemed to be the highest in the country, as Kaza is higher than Leh, where temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius in the winter. It reopens after the snow melts around mid-April.

If the Ladakh government builds additional EV charging stations along popular roads, electric cars, both two- and four-wheelers, may become more popular in the future.

In the meantime, India is gaining traction in the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, as expected. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated this while speaking at a digital event hosted by trade body CII.

“Battery-operated small electrical autos such as e-scooters, electric three-wheelers, e-rickshaws, e-carts, and e-bikes have a positive reaction in the country”, he adds.

The minister went on to say that the street ministry is considering running a railway, metro, and long-distance intercity buses on hydrogen.

“Battery electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars are complementing technologies that are on track to replace fossil-fueled vehicles in the United States by 2050.