Thank you for Aarti Basnyat's article on electric vehicles ('Against the current', #215). Hydropower is Nepal's only indigenous energy source and therefore electric vehicles should be our preferred choice of transportation.

However our planners and policy makers are reluctant to make a commitment to an industry that has the potential for being an economic driver for the country. Your effort to bring this story is appreciated by all who understand why Nepal should promote electric vehicles. The credit for the introduction for Safa Tempos in Kathmandu in1993 goes to Global Research Institute with the support of USAID. While I believe that the government has not done enough to promote electric vehicles, it would be unfair to say that the government has done nothing. It has provided import tax incentives for electric three wheeler and trolley buses and there is a lower import duty for electric cars. The cost of electricity is lower for charging the batteries of electric vehicles. However, the government has to do more to help expand the electric vehicle industry.

If the government is serious about promoting electric vehicles then it has to look into what policy measures are needed to create more demand for them. We have been providing policy recommendations to the government in the past and we will continue to do so in future. The people of Kathmandu should also demand clean air to improve the quality of life because the Valley's air quality is having a negative health impact on all of us.

Bibek Chapagain,
Kathmandu Electric Vehicle Alliance (KEVA)