DNA Special: Why electric scooters are catching fire?

This news may disturb you but it is very important for you to know because it is related to the safety of you, your family and friends.

A man set his electric scooter on fire in Tamil Nadu. He was troubled by the constant malfunction in his e-scooter. This e-scooter was only three months old. Its cost was about Rs 1.5 lakh. But within three months, the owner of this electric scooter got so upset that he himself set it on fire.

The name of this person living in Ambur, Tamil Nadu is G Prithviraj. He is a physiotherapist by profession. Prithviraj bought an electric scooter in January, but it was constantly facing some technical problem. Prithviraj alleges that he complained several times to the company making the e-scooter, but the company did not solve his problem. He says that the company had made big claims about its mileage and performance while selling the scooter, but all those claims turned out to be false. Last Tuesday, Prithviraj had gone to a nearby city to register his electric scooter. While returning from there, his e-scooter suddenly stopped. Prithviraj sought help from the customer care of the e-scooter maker, but he was asked to wait for a long time. Frustrated and upset by this, Prithviraj set fire to his e-scooter by sprinkling petrol. A scooter worth 1.5 lakh was burnt to ashes in 10 minutes.

People buy their dream vehicle with great passion. Be it two-wheeler or four-wheeler. You can understand the pain and frustration if a person sets his vehicle on fire himself.

Apart from Tamil Nadu, similar news has also come from Maharashtra. A man got so upset with his electric scooter that he pulled the scooter tied to a donkey. Sachin Gitte, who lives in Beed, Maharashtra, bought an e-scooter just 6 days ago. But in less than a week, his e-scooter broke. It is alleged that he did not get help from the e-scooter company despite complaining. Sachin Gitte chose an interesting way of protesting against the company. He tied the electric scooter to a donkey.

Prithviraj, who lives in Tamil Nadu, burnt the scooter himself, but recently many such incidents have come to the fore when the electric scooter turned into a burning furnace.

In the last two months, there have been at least seven incidents in which electric scooters caught fire while charging or operating them. So far, four people have died in such accidents, while many people have been injured. Today we will tell you who is responsible for these incidents and what is our government doing to save the lives of the customers of e-scooter?

Another fresh case of fire in an electric scooter is from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, where one person lost his life due to an explosion in an electric scooter. On April 23, while he was charging his electric scooter inside the room, his battery exploded, killing a 40-year-old man, while injuring his wife and child. This scooter was brand new and was bought the day before the accident.

In Nizamabad, Telangana, a man was killed, while his wife was seriously injured due to an electric scooter. It was told that he was charging his e-scooter inside the house, when his battery exploded. His son also suffered serious injuries in this accident. This incident is of April 21 and the injured elderly woman is still admitted in the ICU in the hospital.

Till now, in all the incidents of fire in e-scooter, the battery of the vehicle has become the biggest reason. Whether the scooter is running or its battery is being charged. Now the Government of India has constituted a committee to investigate this matter and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has warned the companies making electric scooters that if any compromise is found in the safety of the scooter, then strict action will be taken against them. Nitin Gadkari said that the government will conduct a forensic investigation into all these incidents and if the companies making these vehicles are found responsible in this investigation, then strict action will be taken against them.

This warning of the government also had an impact on the companies. Now the companies making e-scooters have started the process of changing their bad scooters. So far, about 6,500 such scooters have been withdrawn by companies. In this, Ola has withdrawn 1,441 scooters, Okinawa has ordered 3,215 scooters back from customers. A company named Pure EV has also recalled 2,000 scooters.

But here we want to make one thing clear that we are not against electric vehicles at all. In today's time, this technology is important for us as well as for the environment and we support it. But we also believe that if there is any flaw in this technology, then it is necessary to improve it. For example, lithium-ion battery is used in these electric vehicles. The advantage of lithium-ion batteries is that they work better in hot environments, but they are prone to catching fire if the temperature is very high.

Apart from this, even if there is any defect during manufacturing, such incidents can happen. The number of registered electric vehicles in India is 10,76,420, whereas the number of public charging stations in India has now increased to 1,742. However, according to an estimate, by the year 2026, India will need four lakh charging stations. And by the year 2030, this industry of electric vehicles will be worth $150 billion i.e., about Rs 11.5 lakh crore. That is, this industry will become 90 times bigger than today.

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These figures show that the people of India want to adopt this technology. But companies making electric vehicles have to understand that if they do not make this technology safe, then people will start avoiding buying electric vehicles. And that would not be a good thing.