Tirupati: Tirupati, one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites, recently got a touch of technology to enrich the experience of the devoteesfurther. Okinawa Scooters, India’s fastest growing electric two-wheeler manufacturing company, bagged the tender to equip the holy city with e-scooters to facilitate internal city touring and crowd management for theMunicipal Corporation Tirupati (MCT)staff. Okinawa has provided 105 “i-Praise – The IntelligentScooter” to the holy city, customized according to design specifications suggested by the Commissioner Shri. Vijay Rama Raju. V, I.A.S of Municipal Corporation Tirupati.These e-scooters for Tirupati is equipped with smart features like – Remote Immobilize, Geo-Fencing, Trips, Tracking & Monitoring, Driver Score, Find my Scooter etc. On the special request to address the public or pilgrimage these e-scooters have been installed with Speakers & Sirens for public addressing in the city.

 

The e-scooters offered by Okinawa are a part of this massive transition towards becoming a spiritual city equipped with the latest features that enrich a devotee’s spiritual journey further by making it more secure and convenient. The Tirupati Municipal Corporation is spread across an area of 27.44Sq Km and includes 50 Wards, which demands a strong surveillance and municipal system to take care of the needs of the devotees.

 

In order to bolster the crowd management system and enhance the experience of the devotees, Okinawa has equipped theMCTstaffand the public service framework of the city with eco-friendly, high performance i-Praise scooters. To ensure they blend in the spiritual environment, the scooters have been specially customized according to the concept of Lord Garuda, the vahana of Lord Vishnu, a dharma-protector and God of the Vehicles.

 

Commenting on the association, Mr. Jeetender Sharma, MD, Okinawa Scooters, said, “It is a matter of great honor for us to be a part of one of the most ancient and holiest sites in India. The city of Tirupati has always been a symbol of the perfect amalgamation between spirituality and a modern outlook, which even earned it the title of ‘The Best Heritage City’ in 2012-13 by the Ministry of Tourism. By integrating Okinawa i-Praise e-scooters into their pilgrimage management framework, the city and MCT staff have further shown their sustained focus on utilizing technology to ensure the safety and security of devotees. Thei-Praise fleet is equipped with the latest detachable Li-ion battery technology that helps the batteries to be charged anywhere, resulting in uninterrupted e-mobility for theMCT staff.”

 

Remarking on the vision behind the decision, Commissioner of theMunicipal Corporation Tirupati, Shri. Vijay Rama Raju. V, I.A.S said,“We are glad to welcome 105 Okinawa i-Praise scooters to the city and are looking forward to the great operational efficiency we expect them to provide. With these zero emission e-scooters it would not help our staff for the internal city surveillance but would also help in curbing the pollution level in city. We appreciate Okinawa team to have customized the vehicles to resonate the spiritual element of Lord Garuda, the vahana of Lord Vishnu, a dharma-protector and God of the Vehicles. Looking forward for making Tirupati a smart & a pollution free city.”

 

The i-Praise scooters have been further equipped with speakers and sirens to help make public announcements and let the people know about the presence of city guards. Such an initiative by the Tirupati public services department can become an example for other pilgrimage-oriented cities to follow, resulting in an optimized pilgrimage management and public security system that can help to avoid mishaps and let the visitors complete their spiritual journey in peace.