Amritsar is one of India's most polluted cities, with toxic diesel fumes filling the air due to heavy traffic. Can electric three-wheelers help make city life more pleasant for locals?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00For auto rickshaw driver Satnam Singh, the colour blue represents an important shift
00:06away from the black and yellow of his old diesel rickshaw.
00:11Satnam was among the early adopters of an electric auto rickshaw, as part of the city
00:17of Amritsar's trade-in scheme.
00:19He gave up his old rickshaw three years ago.
00:25It was 22 years old, used up a lot of fuel and cost a fortune to maintain.
00:31So when I found out about the Rahi trade-in scheme, I went to the agency and discovered
00:36that I could receive a subsidy for this e-rickshaw.
00:40Making the step has been a real blessing.
00:48Through the Rahi scheme, drivers were offered up to 70 per cent off the cost of a brand
00:54new electric rickshaw if they traded in their old diesel vehicles.
00:58Amritsar has very little public transport and some of the worst air pollution in the
01:03world.
01:04A problem made worse, say environment lists, by private vehicles and a large, barely regulated
01:11fleet of diesel rickshaws.
01:16Transport alone accounts for about one quarter of the problem, where the emission levels
01:22in the city are almost three times of the permissible national standards.
01:28Satnam says owning an e-rickshaw has been a welcome choice for his customers and has
01:33improved his own health.
01:37Passengers only spend a short time in a rickshaw, but I used to be exposed to fumes and noise
01:43from my diesel engine for up to 12 hours per day.
01:46I was constantly coughing or had a cold.
01:50With the e-rickshaw, I am healthier and my customers are happier.
01:55The Rahi scheme was also extended to offer large subsidies aimed at attracting more women
02:01drivers.
02:02Sandeep Gill abandoned her low-paid casual work and thanks to a 90 per cent government
02:08subsidy, bought a new e-rickshaw.
02:11It's had a big impact on her life.
02:15I used to earn just 300 rupees for a 12-hour shift.
02:20It was difficult to cover our household costs and support my son on that wage.
02:24Now that I have a rickshaw, why would I want to go back to that?
02:32As a rickshaw driver, Sandeep now earns twice what she did before.
02:37But her first three months were a bumpier ride than she was expecting.
02:40With no access to an efficient charging point, she had to pay as much as the equivalent of
02:47100 euros each month to recharge her e-rickshaw.
02:55My last electricity bill was 8,500 rupees and I didn't have that much money saved up,
03:01so I've had to take out a high-interest loan to pay it off.
03:05At e-rickshaw dealerships in the city like this one, customers are aware of potential
03:09hurdles when it comes to charging.
03:14We have decided to go for a compressed natural gas variant because it's easier to fill them
03:19up anywhere in the city.
03:21We cover around 200 kilometres every day and charging in the middle of a workday is impractical
03:26for us.
03:28The dealership's manager Jaswinder Singh says it's an issue his company is trying to solve.
03:37The company is working to introduce technology to reduce charging time for customers.
03:42Customers want to be able to charge within 15 to 20 minutes and we are working to meet
03:47that need.
03:53Amritsar's rickshaw drivers cater to thousands of tourists looking to make day trips to locations
03:59outside the city.
04:01Places like the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan pull in the crowds.
04:06The atmosphere here is always electric, but there are no charging stations to be found
04:10even at tourist hotspots like this.
04:13Meanwhile, back in Amritsar, Satnam Singh uses a specialised charging connection at
04:18home to charge his vehicle.
04:20It takes three to four hours and provides a range of about 120 kilometres.
04:25For many, that's too much time and not enough distance.
04:28Despite four years of pushing drivers to ditch their diesel engines, the city's charging
04:34infrastructure is not yet where it needs to be.
04:41There are about eight to ten of these across Amritsar.
04:43I've seen them all over, but they aren't connected right now.
04:46The sooner charging infrastructure is ready, the better it will be for us.
04:53The government subsidy scheme expired at the start of 2025.
04:57It was only able to electrify about 1,200 of the city's 40,000 auto rickshaws.
05:04The city's administration is pushing to renew the scheme and promising to better implement
05:09the necessary electric infrastructure once they get the green light.
05:13If they succeed, Amritsar will one day be able to breathe easier and also serve as a
05:18model for the rest of Punjab.