Ujjwala Yojana brings relief, empowerment to women in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched in 2016 to provide free LPG connections to women from poor households, continues to transform lives in rural India, bringing both relief and empowerment.

In the Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh, women beneficiaries say the scheme has freed them from the drudgery of cooking on traditional mud stoves and spared them the health hazards caused by smoke.

The central government scheme, aimed at promoting LPG use in place of firewood and other fossil fuels, has also reduced the time spent on daily chores, giving women greater opportunity to focus on other activities.

Sharing her experience, Roshni Sori, a resident of Bade Rajpur village, said that Ujjwala Yojana has been a turning point in her life.

“Due to Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and Ujjwala Yojana, I have received huge benefits. If Ujjwala Yojana had not been there, I would still be cooking on a traditional chulha, spending so much time and suffering from the smoke. Now, cooking has become much easier,” she told IANS.

Sori pointed out that access to LPG cylinders at subsidised rates has helped save both money and time.

“Earlier, we had breathing problems due to the smoke from chulhas. Now, with LPG, those health issues are gone. This scheme has brought real relief,” she added.

She also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for driving women’s empowerment through such welfare programmes.

“Because of PM Modi, women like us have become self-reliant. He has thought so much about the poor, and we hope he will continue to work for everyone’s welfare,” she said.

The Ujjwala scheme, besides addressing health concerns, is widely seen as a tool for social change in rural India, giving women dignity and independence in their everyday lives.

With millions of connections distributed across the country, the initiative remains one of the key flagship programmes of the central government in its effort to empower women and improve rural living conditions.

--IANS

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