Port Blair, April 20: Hope Town celebrated pan-India as Ujjwala Diwas under the aegis of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, saw the successful organization of LPG panchayat at Hope Town. The occasion also marked the release of 100 no. of PMUY connections in the Hope Town district of South Andaman of Andaman & Nicobar Islands out of which 15 were handed over during the event.
Mrs. Baby Farida, Chairperson Zilla Parishad, South Andaman, Mr. Udit Prakash Rai, IAS, (Secretary, RD & PR & Deputy Commissioner), South Andaman, Mr. Ramesh Verma, IAS, (Secretary Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs), Mr. Madhusudan Rao, Pradhan Hope Town Village participated in the event and addressed the gathering of 270 no. of women in presence of Mr. Jaydeep Kumar Dey, Ex- Adhyaksh and Zilla Parishad Member, Hope Town, Mr. M.K Sundaram, Zilla Parishad Member, Shore Point, Mr. Sunil Kumar, Tehsildar Ferrargunj, Mr. Rajendra Pal, BDO Ferrargunj. They highlighted the importance of usage of clean cooking fuel with regard to health, economic, safety, environment benefits. Mrs. Baby Farida, Chairperson Zilla Parishad, South Andaman said that “Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi dreamt a dream of smoke free India. So please make this dream successful by positively taking second refill after first cylinder under PMUY. Please do not return to stoves and wood again.” The LPG Panchayat was organised by Indian Oil Corporation Limited with support from distributor Priya Indane.
By creating a special observation day, MoPNG through its PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) successfully promoted amongst the rural consumers, the safe and sustained use of LPG through peer group interactions on a large scale. The Ujjwala Diwas also aimed at meeting the enhanced target of enrolling 8 crore LPG beneficiaries and the Panchayats provided new LPG connections to eligible beneficiaries.
Under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, 15000 LPG Panchayats were organized throughout the country where apart from experience sharing, aimed at safe and sustained usage of LPG, all out efforts were also made to maximize customer enrolment. Each Panchayat had targeted participation by 500 women with a goal of enrolling at least 100 new LPG beneficiaries. Safety Literature (Safety Instruction and Insurance cards were also distributed during the Panchayat session).
In Hope Town village, rural LPG penetration is about 75%. It is expected that through the LPG Panchayat platform, it will be possible to reach the target LPG penetration of 100 %.
The event created awareness about the safety and utility of LPG, health benefits of using clean fuels as well informed the women participants about the details of expanded PMUY categories.
Enthused by its success, plans are being firmed up to hold similar LPG Panchayats every month at different centers in the district.
