Seyie Gas Agency Kohima, on Friday, distributed new LPG connections for free to 30 eligible women living Below Poverty Line (BPL) and SC/ST families from in and around Kohima, at D Block Panchayat Hall, coinciding with the celebration of National ‘Ujjwala Diwas’,
Proprietor of the agency, Kuolachalie Seyie said that full sets of new LPG connections were distributed in line with the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from BPL households.
He said the scheme aims to empower women and improve their health by easing the burden of cooking with firewood.
He said that besides Aadhaar cards, residency proofs and income certificates, intending local women applicants who do not have LPG connections in their name, have to submit SC/ST certificates.
According to Seyie, the scheme envisages that giving LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal cooking gas coverage in the country while also empowering women and protecting their health. This also is an attempt towards making the country smokeless, he said.
The scheme aims to select beneficiaries from BPL families only and give preference to SC/ST and weaker sections of society.
Quoting WHO estimates, Manager of Seyie Gas Agency, Kezieno said about 5 lakh deaths in India alone was reported due to unclean cooking fuels mostly and said most of the death were premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, strokes and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.
According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour, she said.
AMK president, Kevinourheno Seyie also spoke at the programme while Thepfulhousa Shüya demonstrated safe operation of LPG at home.