Bengal bags most No. of LPG links after UP

Moyna, Malda: West Bengal has bagged the highest number of LPG connections after Uttar Pradesh, since May 1, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana aimed at distributing five crore new connections to women of below-poverty-line (BPL) families across the country, a top Indian Oil Corp (

IOC

) official said here on Friday.

Abhijit Dey, chief general manager (LPG), IOC, said: “In 2016, less than 50% households had LPG connection, while the number has now increased to 94.9% under Pradhanmantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme. West Bengal got 86 lakhs connection in these years, just second in the country after Uttar Pradesh.”

On this occasion, North Malda MP Khagen Murmu, IOC executive director Pritish Bharat and IOC general manager (LPG sales) were also present among others. Two more programmes were held at Chanchal and Sahapur of the district on the same day.

The Yojana was aimed at promoting the usage and benefits of LPG among the village women. IOC has taken up the pilot project by covering remote areas of the district in Malda.

Dey justified picking Malda as the venue for the pilot project by saying, “LPG coverage of Malda is significantly less (82%) than the state coverage.” The programme also emphasized on the handy concept of 5 kg domestic cylinders, guidance on safe use of LPG and generation of cleanliness awareness.

Murmu, in his speech, said, “Prime Minister Modiji saw her mother shedding tears while cooking. That day, he dreamt of wiping of tears and Ujjwala Yojana introduced in 2016 is the result of it. Everyone has the right to live a healthy life. Those who got the connection of LPG know the benefit of it.”

He added: “It is not the cost but the lack of awareness that still left some beyond the LPG connectivity. Indian Oil has taken up a great initiative to aware the people against smoke.”

The Indane LPG stalls at the venue demonstrated the online booking procedure of LPG apart from safety tips for practical use.

Guno Sarkar, 60, of village Ghoramari or 58-year-old Rijiya Biwi of Chaksunda – who were present to witness the programme, which also included musical performances and plays performed by the reputed artists — said, “We got the LPG connection just a year back but now we can’t think without it.”

Popular Bengali actor Monami Ghosh added colour to the occasion when she interacted with the audience to emphasise on the Health Benefits of LPG for the households.