New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to boost adoption of electric vehicles in the city, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has started process for setting up charging stations for commercial vehicles including buses and trucks at Okhla, Narela and Dwarka at a cost of around Rs 11 crores, officials said on Saturday.

In order to set up charging stations at cluster bus depots at Dwarka Sector 22, Narela and Okhla, the DTC has floated tenders for engaging approved and eligible contractors registered with Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Military Engineer Services (MES), Railways, PWD and other government agencies.

The work will involve installing and commissioning 1,600 KVA compact substations for supplying power to 240 KW EV chargers meant for commercial vehicles including buses and trucks, a senior DTC officer said.

The move is aligned with the Delhi government's plans to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and to convert the entire public bus transport fleet into e-buses, in a bid to curb air pollution.

In November last year, the DTC started work for setting up charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles at nine of its bus depots at Rohini Sector 37, Keshopur, Nangloi, Kalkaji, Sukhdev Vihar, Nand Nagri, Ghazipur, and Hasanpur, according to a transport department officer.

Charging facilities for heavy commercial vehicles require high powered direct current (DC) chargers. Private players are already expanding the infrastructure, and now the DTC is towing the line with an aim to transition its entire bus fleet to e-vehicles by the end of the year, officials said.

The charging stations, equipped with 240 KW DC chargers, at Narela, Dwarka Sector 22 and Okhla depots will have an LCD touchscreen human interface and LED lights for charging status indication.

Additionally, there will be metering of the power consumed with an accuracy up to one percent deviation, one hour battery backup for communication, and an emergency push stop button. The user interface will be enabled through a mobile app, QR code, radio frequency ID (RFID) card and via payment options, officials said.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.