Hazaribagh, Sep 28 (IANS) For several decades after Independence, women across the country particularly rural belts, struggled with smoke and hardships in the kitchen. Cooking meals on wood and coal stoves not only took more time but also did irreparable damage to crores of women’s health.

However, the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) opened the doors for complete turnaround in their kitchens as well as lifestyles. Today, scores of women across the country, including Hazaribagh are benefiting from this scheme, significantly transforming their lifestyles.

Ruby Devi, a resident of Navadih village in the Ichak block of Hazaribagh told IANS how her life changed after subscribing to the clean fuel under PMUY scheme.

“Cooking on wood and coal stoves was a very laborious task. Also, it caused many problems, including frequent illnesses. However, after receiving an LPG connection under the scheme, cooking has become easier and safer for us,” she said.

She further said: “Now we can cook faster and the house stays cleaner. We can utilize the saved time for other tasks.”

Babita Devi, another woman of the village said that the LPG connection not only made cooking easier but also saved time. She is now able to devote time to her farm and other household chores.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said the scheme has simplified her life and made her kitchen chores easier and healthier.

Many other women of the district shared similar opinion about the Ujjwala scheme and recalled the grueling experience earlier, as compared to healthier and easier alternative now. They said that problems like colds, coughs, and eye irritation caused by smoke have been significantly reduced.

Notably, the PMAY is a flagship scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, launched in 2016, to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which otherwise used traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc.

–IANS

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