Centre orders probe into Secunderabad e-bike showroom fire

HYDERABAD: The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has ordered an inquiry into the fire that broke out at an electric  bike showroom in Secunderabad, killing eight people on Monday.“Two experts are visiting the electric bike showroom in Secunderabad after the police submitted their preliminary findings,” a ministry official said. The recent incidents of e-vehicles catching fire have come as a major cause of concern, especially in the wake of the Central government aggressively pushing adoption of electric vehicles.

On Monday night, eight occupants of Ruby Pride Luxury Hotel were killed when the fire spread upstairs following an e-bike blast in the Ruby Motors showroom located in the ground floor of the building.The Road Transport Ministry, meanwhile, introduced additional safety provisions in the battery safety standards, which will come into effect from October 1.

They include additional safety requirements related to battery cells, on-board charger, design of battery pack and thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuit leading to the fire. In April this year, there were reports of electric two-wheelers of manufacturers such as Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech and PureEV catching fire following which the government formed a panel to examine and recommend additional safety requirements in the existing battery safety standards notified under commercial motor vehicle rules.

Earlier, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari warned companies of penalties if they were found to be negligent and said they would be ordered to recall defective vehicles.