The era of post COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 is crucial to every developed or developing nation in this world. As the economy of the whole world is completely trembled down. Those countries are badly hit by this economic jolt of pandemic which are in their developing stage. In this context we have India as the one of the best examples with shaking & trembling economy after pandemic.
The effect of this grounded economy is directly affecting the environment as the Government of India has no strategy or plan to deal with a scumbling economy & this results in direct degradation of the environment.
For example the hike in price of LPG cylinder & withdrawal of subsidy molding rural Indian population back into smoking "chulha"(clay stove). As of late February ;2021 the LPG cylinder price was hiked to a new record of rupees 819 without subsidy. The one of the best examples of this is the country's first village that bid goodbye to traditional cooking fuels, like wood, and went smokeless was Vyachakurahalli from Chikkaballapur district Karnataka in 2015. But in 2021, six years down the line, thousands of households, especially in rural Karnataka, are contemplating switching back to firewood or coal for cooking and ditching gas stoves as LPG prices have skyrocketed over the last year.
Under the much-hyped Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) launched in 2016, women below the poverty line get a free gas cylinder and subsidized refills to wean them away from unhealthy cooking fuels to make villages smoke-free but in 2021 the era of smoking chulha comes back due unwisely hike in price of LPG cylinders & withdrawal of subsidy. So in my opinion the Government of India should consider all the aspects of the pandemic on the people & their lifestyle which is degraded due to loss of jobs & their small business. Otherwise, the UJJWLA Yojana is going to fail & people of rural India are again entrapped in the unhealthy smoking chulha & this results in degradation of environment as air becomes more and more polluted due to excessive use of wood, coal & kerosene for cooking purpose.
©www.dynamicviews.co.in
