TURA: BJP member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (MDC-GHADC) Sofiur Rahman has lauded the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme that provides subsidized gas connection for womenfolk falling under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) segment.
“This scheme is benefitting the BPL families in the rural areas of Garo Hills including the constituency of Rajabala where gas connections were once a luxury that only a few could afford. This will also go a long way in preventing multiple health conditions for women who earlier faced difficulties working under extreme smoke filled rooms using chulas and firewood to cook their meals,” said Rahman on the sidelines of a programme at Rajabala, this week, to distribute the scheme to 35 beneficiaries at its launch. Explaining to the public the nitty-gritty details of the scheme and its criteria, he said that more and more poor people in the plain belt region would be covered under the PMUY in the following weeks and months. “This is a very important scheme because it is ensuring women’s empowerment, especially in the rural areas of our country. The connections are issued in the name of the women of the households,” said the Balachanda MDC. The aim of the scheme is to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel-LPG, so that they don’t have to compromise their health in smoky kitchens or wander in unsafe areas collecting firewood. Under the scheme, that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1st last year in Uttar Pradeh, 5 crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families with a support of Rs. 1600 per connection in the next three years. |
