The state's first solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station was opened in Banthra under Sarojininagar constituency on Friday. The station was inaugurated by BJP's Sarojininagar MLA Rajeshwar Singh.

Calling solar energy "a responsibility for Earth's future, not just an alternative," Singh stressed its role in tackling air pollution and climate change. He noted that over 8 million people die annually from air pollution, with more than 2.5 million deaths in India alone.

Highlighting Earth Overshoot Day, Singh warned that in 1972, humanity exhausted its annual natural resource quota by Dec 23, but in 2024, it fell to Aug 1-indicating unsustainable consumption.

He shared that UP currently has over 3.75 lakh registered EVs and offers attractive subsidies to promote green mobility. Each EV can save 1.5 million grams of CO₂ per year. With a 30% EV adoption target by 2030, India could save $60 billion in oil imports annually.

Singh praised CM Yogi Adityanath's solar mission to expand UP's solar capacity from 288 MW in 2017 to 22,000 MW by 2030.