20 lakh LPG connections would be issued to the eligible poor in Telangana

 Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said that 20 lakh LPG connections would be issued to the eligible poor in Telangana under Pradhan Mantri Ujwal Yojana (PMUY).

The Union Minister formally launched PMUY in Telangana by distributing LPG connections to the beneficiaries at a programme in Suryapet town.Dharmendra Pradhan said that there were a large number of families which did not have LPG connections. It was difficult for them to spend Rs 4,000 to get the LPG connections. Majority of these families are STs, SCs and BCs. He pointed out that 30 to 40 per cent of the families living in ST, SC and BC concentrated areas don’t have LPG connections in Mahaboobnagar, Jayashanker Bhupalpally, Komurambheem Asifabad and Suryapet districts in the Telangana State.

He informed that the Pradhan Mantri Ujwal Yojana was aimed at safeguarding the health of women and children by providing LPG connections. It would lead to smoke-free kitchens.

Stating that issuance of 20 lakh LPG connections to the State would impact the distribution of cylinders, the Union Minister announced another 1,000 LPG distributors for the State to ease the burden of work. Already, 709 LPG distributors were working the State, he reminded.

When it was brought to his notice that new ration cards were not issued to the people for the last four years and relaxation from furnishing the ration card, the Union Minister has assured them to take up measures to sort out the problem.

Stating that he was feeling happy for launching PMUY in the State on the day of birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Dharmendra Pradhan told that Narendra Modi government at the centre has been following the principles of Dr B R Ambedkar and striving for uplift of downtrodden sections. After coming to power, BJP government has focused on reaching the benefits of welfare schemes and fruits of development programmes to the poor people in the State.“As a part of Grameena Swaraj Abhiyan, Ujjwal camps will be conducted in 15,000 villages on April 20 in the State. The people can also register their names for LPG connections at the camps”, he added.

Secunderabad M.P. Bandaru Dattatreya felt that there should be no place for traditional wood burning stoves in Bangaru Telangana as they would show impact on the women, who cooks food. Stating that education and employment would help in rooting out the poverty from the society, he requested the Union Minister to take measure setup Skill Development Centre at all district headquarters in the state and provide employment to the youth by imputing skills in them as the requirement of the job market. Under Housing for All Scheme, all the women in the country would get own house by 2020, he added.Earlier, the Union Minister has also garlanded the statue of Dr B R Amedkar at Khammam Cross Road in Suryapet and also participated in Sahapankthi Bhojanam.

BJP state president Dr K Laxman, MLC N Ramachandar Rao and others were also present.