Nitin Gadkari has always been vocal about electric vehicles and India’s push towards the electric vehicle future. However, recognising the recent electric vehicle fires across the country, Nitin Gadkari took to Twitter to call these mishaps “unfortunate” and promised heavy penalty on companies if they are found negligent. The Union Minister also said that an expert committee has been formed to not only inquire into these accidents but also recommend remedial steps. The committee will form reports, based on which quality-centric electric vehicle guidelines will be formulated.
Nitin Gadkari also mentioned that “Meanwhile companies may take advance action to Recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately.”
If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) April 21, 2022
Recently, in perhaps the biggest EV fire accident, 20 brand new electric scooters from a company called Jitendra EV, caught fire and the incident was caught on video which went viral on social media. The scooters caught fire while being transported and were within the container when the fire broke out. As per reports, these scooters were being transported from their factory in Nashik. The container had a total of 40 Jitendra electric scooters and the upper deck, containing 20 of these scooters can be seen on fire. This incident took place on April 9 and no casualties were reported.
This incident came after an Ola S1 pro electric scooter was on fire in Lohegaon area of Pune. The 31-second clip that went viral was seen showing the scooter parked on the roadside of a busy commercial area, completely engulfed in fire. While the issue is still under investigation, the reason is speculated to be a thermal runaway, where an exothermic reaction occurs inside a lithium-ion battery when it is damaged or short-circuited. A lithium-ion battery on fire is proved to be difficult to extinguish. In contact with water, it immediately produces hydrogen gas and lithium-hydroxide. Hydrogen gas is a major hindrance due to its extreme flammability.
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