Telangana Tourism to introduce electric vehicles

Hyderabad, July 30: In a major eco-friendly initiative, The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation(TSTDC) proposed a plan to operate electric vehicles (e-rickshaws) around Charminar and Salarjung Museum is still a non-starter as the State government has no policy of registering the electric vehicles.

The tourism officials are hopeful that the government would take a decision soon so that the e-vehicles could be operated at Charminar, connecting various historical sites. The Tourism Corporation had proposed to start e-rickshaws at Charminar for the tourists visiting the city.

The three-seater colorful battery operated electric auto-rickshaws were to be made available by the Corporation connecting historical places like Salarjung Museum, Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Chowmahalla Palace and the Nizam’s Museum in parts of the Old City. Officials at the Tourism Corporation said initially 50 autos would be deployed with each e-rickshaw costing Rs 2 lakh.

The idea was to provide connectivity and easy access to the historical places to the tourists in wake of the ban on the vehicular movement at Charminar with its pedestrianization project during this summer season.

The fare was decided at Rs 250 per person including the ticket to the tourist spots. Tourism Corporation MD B Manohar said that they were waiting for permission from the transport department.