GUWAHATI, April 18 - Over 6.5 lakh LPG connections will be given by Indian Oil in Assam by May 5 next to achieve 100 per cent coverage of the targeted over 3,000 villages in the State that can be declared �smokeless�.
�In Assam, 3,042 villages have been targeted to be made �smokeless� and in order to achieve the target by May 5, about 6.55 lakh LPG connections would be released within this fortnight so that all the targeted villages can be declared smokeless,� Uttiya Bhattacharyya, Chief General Manager, Indian Oil (Assam Oil Division state office), said at a press conference here.
The initiative is a part of the �Gram Swaraj Abhiyan� that is being organized from April 14 to May 5 across the country on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.
As part of this campaign, the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will mark April 20 as �Ujjwala Diwas� and a saturation programme for 21,058 villages, including 3042 in Assam, was conceived to provide LPG connections to all households in these villages and declare them smokeless by May 5.
Bhattacharyya said special drives have been launched to ensure new enrolment and meet the target and various programmes will be undertaken to mark Ujjwala Diwas, which will additionally increase enrolment.
Also, LPG panchayats will be organized where about 500 to 700 women will be brought together to share their experiences and improvement in life by switching to LPG from traditional methods of cooking. In NE states, 570 LPG panchayats have been planned on the Ujjwala Diwas.
Distribution of new connection to 100 beneficiaries and details of extended Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana categories will also be undertaken as part of Ujjwala Diwas, Bhattacharyya said.
He added that bottling capacities and distribution network is being enhanced to ensure maximum coverage of LPG connections for its consumers.
