Crores of women got freedom from stove smoke through Ujjwala scheme, no less than a boon for women.
Saved her eyes from getting damaged, Noorjahan, a resident of Lakhauribagh, Rewa, was suffering from eye pain. The pain was so much that the tears wouldn’t stop. But leaving aside her pain, she was helpless to throw herself in front of the stove to feed her family, and was forced to endure the smoke. Gradually the pain started increasing and the eyes reached the verge of getting damaged. But now because of Ujjwala Yojana, while cooking food for the family, Noorjahan has no tears in her eyes but a smile on her face.
As if God had listened to my heart’s wish, when I went to the forest to collect wood, many times my feet were pricked by thorns. Cooking in the rain was a laborious task because dry wood was not available and how could one cook with wet wood? Tarun’s family, living in Pushparajnagar, Rewa, was dependent on stove and stove for cooking. But now Tarun’s wife’s health started deteriorating due to the smoke emanating from the coal of the cigar. There was a fear of his wife’s eyesight getting damaged. Lighting the stove in the rain was an even more difficult task. After all, how does a stove burn with wet wood and how can food be cooked? Life was going on like this as we were unable to buy a gas connection. Then when I got the gas connection under the Ujjwala scheme, it seemed as if God had heard it.
Double engine government’s effort, every woman should have LPG
One day there will be blue flame in my kitchen too, one day I too will serve food and smile to my family… I don’t know for how long this water of hope had been stagnant in the eyes of crores of women who once cooked bread on the fire of the kitchen stove. Be it Mehrunisa of Jabalpur or Imarti Devi of Balaghat, Aarti Chauhan of Satna or Rakhi Kumari of Alirajpur, everyone hoped that one day they would get freedom from the smoke of the stove and the Ujjwala scheme of the Central Government has fulfilled this hope of crores of women. . As of April 2014, active domestic LPG consumers were 14.52 crore, which will increase to 31.36 crore by March 2023. In Madhya Pradesh too, the double engine government has delivered LPG to the kitchens of crores of women. The total number of connections released under PMUY till January 30, 2023 has reached 9.58 crore.
In Madhya Pradesh, even non-Ujjwala people can get LPG at Rs 450.
In Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the women of the state are getting the benefits of Ujjwala. A few days ago, the Union Cabinet had announced to reduce the price of LPG by Rs 200 per cylinder. After that, women all over the country expressed gratitude towards the Prime Minister. Recently, in a program, CM Shivraj talked about providing cooking gas to the women of the state for only Rs 450. Now not only those under Ujjwala scheme but also those without Ujjwala scheme will always get domestic gas cylinder for Rs 450.
Ujjwala helpful in improving women’s health
According to a World Health Organization report in 2018, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has provided 37 million women living below the poverty line the opportunity to use clean household energy. This tremendous increase in LPG coverage in Indian households has been instrumental in improving the health of women by providing them environmentally beneficial options by providing them with clean cooking fuel and smoke-free kitchens.
