Governor sees increase in electric vehicles demand

LAHORE:The demand for electric vehicles will increase in Pakistan in the next few years. The electric vehicles will be environment friendly and will help a lot in reducing pollution in the country. A new industry is being born in Pakistan with electric vehicles, which will increase employment opportunities as well.

Punjab Governor Engineer Baligh ur Rehman expressed these views while addressing the first Electric Vehicle Conference organised by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (MKRMS) (Jang Group of Newspapers) and the University of Lahore. He also inaugurated the first International Electric Vehicle Expo 2023 at the University of Lahore.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Jamal Nasir, Director of IECE Dr Aizer Khan, Director of UET, Dr Ali Hussain Kazim and Dr Aqsa Basheer also addressed the conference. Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society Chairman Wasif Nagi was the host of the moot.

Governor said that it is very important to adopt new technology, especially artificial intelligence, for development in the modern era and working together can lead to improved outcomes. He further said that the government is also working on various projects with public-private partnerships and institutions. The interaction of academia and industry is a welcome sign in this exhibition, as the promotion of electric vehicles will help control problems like smog. He said that the education is the guarantee to a prosperous future and a developed society. Education is the only way through which nations are making incredible progress in the modern era, he maintained.

At the end of the conference, Punjab Governor also distributed shields to the people associated with the electrical vehicles and green technology industries and others.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Jamal Nasir in his speech appreciated the organising of first Electric Vehicle Conference. The caretaker government has been thinking about improving the environment for the past several weeks and is planning to manufacture or procure electric vehicles, he added. The government is planning to start using electric vehicles in the country as soon as possible so that the country could be saved from environmental pollution, and secondly, the government is spending a lot of money on importing gasoline. By establishing an electric vehicle industry, the employment opportunities will increase and people will get affordable transportation, he added. Dr Aizer Khan said that electric vehicles are the need of the future and our country cannot afford expensive transport due to growing price of petrol. Electric vehicles can run without both petrol and diesel and due to these vehicles, the environment will remain pleasant and clean.

Director Automotive Engineering Centre, UET Lahore Dr Engineer Ali Hussain Kazim said that Lahore gets only 13 days of unpolluted clean air on average per year, and the electric vehicles are the most promising solution to this threat. He expressed delight that the shift towards 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers is also very encouraging.

Dr Kazim shared his invention of harnessing the energy wasted in vehicle emissions into electricity and emphasised that working on future technologies is the need of the hour. He invited all stakeholders to the Automotive Engineering Conference scheduled to be held at UET Lahore to discuss key solutions to combat climate change. Lahore College for Women University Associate Prof Electrical Engineering Dr Engineer Aqsa Shabbir said that it is a good thing that the automotive industry is moving towards innovation and is going to use artificial intelligence in electric vehicles.

She expressed her wish that the automotive industry landscape should be more fair, diverse and inclusive and that there should be more participation by women engineers and scientists. She stressed that greater involvement by women would be important in raising awareness about climate change and the role of electric vehicles.

Wasif Nagi said that Lahore has become the world's number one city in terms of pollution. If we do not pay attention to it, people will start dying of respiratory diseases, he warned. —Hira Batool