Gandhinagar, June 29 (IANS) The women residents of Ghanta village in the Amirgadh Taluka of Gujarat's Banaskantha district suffered from harmful kitchen smoke for a long time, until the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) knocked on their doors, bringing an end to their daily travails by facilitating a switch to clean fuel.

The village, which till some years ago was entirely dependent on coal and wood for cooking, has made a successful transition by availing free gas connections and subsidised LPG cylinders under the Ujjwala Yojana.

Many women from villages, speaking to IANS, shared their ordeal that existed just a decade ago and how the Ujjwala scheme brought a complete turnaround in their lives.

Meenaben Damor, a resident of Ghanta village, said, “The gas cylinder has brought about a major change; earlier, we used to fetch firewood, and the smoke would sting our eyes. Now, there is no difficulty in cooking. We have benefited greatly from the government scheme; things are much easier now.”

Manishaben Sagiya, another Ujjwala beneficiary, said, “We have now received a gas cylinder from the government. Earlier, the rainy season caused a lot of trouble; the firewood would get wet, making cooking difficult. Now, cooking is easy, and we also receive a subsidy from the government under the Ujjwala Yojana.”

The Ujjwala Yojana, launched by PM Modi in 2016, aimed to safeguard the health of women and children by providing clean cooking fuel and eliminating smoky kitchens.

Dr. Antik Kela, a physician in Banaskantha, said that previously, respiratory ailments like COPD and asthma were common among women, but they are no longer.

“Medical histories of such patients often revealed that they cooked on traditional stoves, exposing their bodies to carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Now, thanks to the PM Ujjwala Yojana, the need for such stoves in households has been eliminated, leading to a significant reduction in respiratory diseases among women,” she added.

Bhavya Ninama, District Supply Officer, said that at least 2 lakh connections are active in the district, with subsidies totaling around ₹6 crore.

“This has improved people's health and enhanced their quality of life,” she said.

Notably, the PMUY has completed 10 years, and to date, more than 10.5 crore women across the country have been provided with free LPG connections. In Gujarat alone, more than 44 lakh women from underprivileged backgrounds have benefited from this scheme.

--IANS

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