LPG :Replacing smoking chulhas and providing impetus to women’s health

Story of Kamla having no LPG connection :

Story 1 : Kamla who is arranging woods ,twigs ,cow dung cake ,crop residuals  to cook food ,she is ready to cook food in Chulah ( made up of clay, cement ,bricks ) she has blow pipe with the help of which she is trying lit the fire in solid fuels ,having no ventilation in kitchen she is facing suffocation at the same time she is feeding her child in smoky kitchen both are prone to detrimental effects of smoke but she is spending her whole day in smoky kitchen irrespective of hazardous smoke she is keep on doing her chores in the ill ventilated and smoky kitchen .

Few years later….Kamla and her child were diagnosed with Respiratory disease and lung cancer due to long exposure in a smoky kitchen.

Story of Sunita having LPG connection :-

Story 2 : Sunita who is cooking food for her and her family in LPG – stove ,she is cooking food even in chilling hot days without any trouble .After cooking food in very little time she is ready to go to do labour work in nearby areas .She is not prone to diseases caused due to household air pollution.

” LPG connection connecting our mother’s food to our stomach safely as she is cooking food in clean energy and reducing Household air pollution (HAP)”

History of LPG :- 

LPG it is the abbreviation of Liquified Petroleum Gas its components are Propane (C3H8) and

Butane (C4H10) so discovery of propane was the main reason behind LPG production .

History of Propane discovery :-

Propane was first discovered in 1910 by Dr. Walter Snelling, a chemist at the U.S. Bureau of Mines. A car owner walked into his office and complained that a gallon of gasoline he had recently purchased had diminished to a half gallon by the time he had driven home. He then challenged Dr. Snelling to determine what the cause was.

Snelling found that the evaporating gas was a mix of butane, propane and other hydrocarbons and soon developed the first method to liquefy propane gas during the production of natural gas.

Dr. Snelling discovered that propane could be changed to a liquid under pressure—thus, the name liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Dr. Snelling devised a way to containerize the liquid gas and store it for long periods under

pressure. He is often referred to as the father of the liquefied petroleum gas industry.

Do you know ?

The first LPG cook stove was made in 1912

LPG was sold commercially by 1920

LPG is a non – renewable source of energy

It is extracted from crude oil and natural gas.

How LPG is playing prominent role :-

Women and child are at high risk of exposure to Household air pollution and due to this adverse health problems such as acute and chronic respiratory infection are increasing because solid fuels emits dangerous chemical compounds such as carbon monoxide ,nitrous oxide,polyaromatic compounds  (Benzo(a)pyrene) .Due to incomplete combustion of solid fuels these harmful pollutants are causing severe problems even in pregnant women.

Approx. 4.3 million annual premature deaths are attributed to HAP exposure.

In India in 2013 ,more than 900,000 deaths have been attributed to HAP in India

8% of rural women cooked indoors using solid fuel with no ventilation.

LPG is combating health problems of women .

When there were no LPG connection women used to bring heavy logs of woods from Forest ,in fact these practices are still existing in  remote areas due to these injuries due to carrying heavy logs of woods common in rural communities . Women used to cook food for their family at the expense of their health but LPG acted as Vaccine to combat such problems .

Can you imagine one innovation/discovery can bring happiness, prosperity ,healthy environment ,good health and long life and also can empower women ?

Yes this happened with the innovation of LPG ,one connection has empowered the  women completely. Earlier men used to feel hesitate to join kitchen’ chores to cook food for themselves or family, to make tea ,due to this women had to do all the chores ,men did not do so because of extra effort required while litting chulhas but LPG’s smooth procedure to lit the stove attracted men towards the kitchen.Now men and women are equally performing their chores and men are breaking stereotypes that kitchen is not for men and men too are enjoying cooking and innovating new dishes( including cooking two minute’ maggi)  it is a great step towards gender equality?

But despite having countless advantages there are countless women who are still facing problems in cooking food especially those women who have to move from one place to another to earn money and also remote areas’ women who are ignoring the adverse impact of HAP ( household air pollution ) on their health .

In India Pradhan mantri ujjwala yojna is playing a vital role in providing gas connection to the women with the help of Subsidy now as a result of this women are happily investing in clean energy and bringing LPG connection to their home .

LPG connection brought a smile in every aerosol affected face of women. Now women are celebrating & enhancing their cooking skills and by using clean energy they are  contributing towards the UN’s clean energy goal.