Mumbai: Another college installs EV charger, BMC encourages more institutions to join

In a bid towards reducing the city’s carbon footprint, another college in Mumbai steps forward in installing an EV charging station in their premises — adding to it, the BMC’s garden department encouraged other institutions in the city as well to step forward towards such sustainable initiatives to improve the air quality of Mumbai.

Matushri Pushpaben Vinubhai Valia College of Commerce (MPVVCC) in Borivali installed an EV charger supporting 2 and 4 wheelers within their institute this week.

Jeetendra Pardeshi, head of BMC’s garden department said, “Electric vehicles encourage people to opt for less polluting solutions when it comes to transportation. The use of more EVs in the city will have a good impact on carbon emissions and will help in improving the air quality too.”

“Therefore, I encourage all other institutions and facilities in the city to take up similar projects within their premises to move towards a sustainable future,” added the BMC official.

Regarding the vision behind installing an EV charger in their premises, Incharge Principal of MPVVCC, Prof. V Manikandan, said, “Using electric vehicles and stepping towards sustainable living is the future. An EV charging station in the college premises will not only benefit the staff and students but will also encourage more people to opt for electric vehicles - thus reducing the carbon footprint.”

Some of the other colleges in Mumbai who have installed an EV charging station in their premises include — Xavier’s Institute of Engineering in Mahim, B K Shroff College Of Arts and M H Shroff College Of Commerce in Kandivli and Smt. KG Mittal college, Malad.

Rizwan Chunawala, Head of sales, MSS RenewTech LLP (the company that installed the EV charger in the college), said, “When it comes to EVs we noticed that it’s usually a catch 22 situation, because people are not buying enough EVs saying that there are very few charging facilities available and on the other hand, some said there is no point in creating charging facilities as there aren’t enough EVs for using the facility. But we cannot have such a mentality if we want to head towards sustainability, so whenever there is an institute willing to take up steps towards a greener future, we help them out in the best way we can.”

“Other sustainable ways which can be implemented by institutions are - opting for solar power for generating electricity and making the institution self sufficient ; installing sensors to make efficient use of electrical appliances and save electricity ; building vertical gardens, and more,” added Rizwan.