Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal meets Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari amid reports of EV fire

Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal meets Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari amid reports of Ola electric scooters catching fire (Image: Twitter/ Bhavish Aggarwal)

Amid reports of Ola electric scooters catching fire, the cab aggregator platform’s CEO and founder Bhavish Aggarwal met Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on April 14 to discuss the future of electric vehicles in the country.

Aggarwal wrote on Twitter: “Met Nitin Gadkari ji and discussed India's potential to become world's EV hub and Ola’s plans. Demoed the scooter to him! His belief in bringing together an electric revolution and making sustainable mobility a reality is really inspiring for us at Ola Electric!”

CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that a government probe has been ordered in the case of Jitendra Electric Vehicles catching fire. Experts have been roped in to be part of the probe which will look into the causes of the fire in the electric scooters. The company too had earlier initiated an investigation into the fire. The latest government probe is being led by representatives from Indian Institute of Science, NSTL Vizag and Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES).

The investigation was ordered after as many as 40 electric scooters of Jitendra EVs caught fire, after being loaded in a transport container in Nashik. This was the sixth incident of an electric scooter catching fire, and in light of that, EV safety has now been under intense spotlight. Investigative teams have already been ordered to probe various accident sites in Vellore, Pune, Trichy and now Nashik.

The Road Ministry has already called officials of Okinawa and Ola EV for a presentation on the EV fire incident. The network learns from reliable sources that the government now wants to do a comprehensive review of the EV ecosystem. The ambit of the latest review exercise is to reassess testing, manufacturing, storage standards, as well as transportation.
Reacting to the incident of fire, a spokesperson for Jitendra EV had earlier said, "Safety being of prime importance, we are investigating the root cause and will soon come out with the findings.”

The soaring temperatures in the summer are being cited as one of the reasons behind the EV batteries catching fire. Earlier, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, had told the Lok Sabha, that the EV fire cases had said that the incidents may have taken place due to higher temperatures. He added, "This is a very serious issue and we have ordered a forensic investigation into each individual event.” Many experts are blaming the poor battery design for the incidents, which have caught everyone's eye, in the past few weeks.