Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday said a total of 18 villages in Chhattisgarh will be developed as 'smoke-free' villages with the co-operation of the oil marketing companies.
The villages in several districts of the State will be supplied with lPG stoves and the supply of the cooking gas will be done on a regular basis, the Chief Minister said
He was addressing the 'Oil and Gas Preservation' fortnight jointly organised by the Indian Oil Corporation ltd (IOCl), Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd (BPCl) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation ltd (HPCl) at New Circuit House here.
The Chief Minister said public awareness campaign should be launched as soon as possible. The campaign will conclude on January 31.
On the occasion, Singh administered a pledge to the gathering to conserve oil and gas. Colourful balloons were released by children and citizens along with the dignitaries.
The villagers will be told not to use wood and cow dung cakes for cooking purposes and will be asked to protect environment. Efforts will be made to make as many villages as possible 'smoke-free' in the near future, he said.
Singh said in Bilaspur district village Kudri, Dourabata, Masturi, in Rajnandgaon district Sadak Chirchiri, Sabarbandha Chowki, in Durg district Kutela Bata, Tedesara, in Balod district Bhedia Nawagaon, in Raipur district villages Saloni, Chandrakuri, in Bemetara district villages Berla, in Surajpur district town Bisrampur, in Dhamtari district villages Bhakhara, in Balodabazar district villages Pahanda, in Raigarh district villages Sajapali, in Janjgir-Champa district villages Kirkaar and in Bijapur district village Modakpal will be made 'smoke-free'.
The citizens have to take a pledge to use sparingly precious commodities like petrol, diesel, lPG and electricity, Singh said.
The Chief Minister said that spreading public awareness regarding saving and preserving of natural resources like gas and oil is the need of the hour.
He said that only 20 per cent of petrol and diesel is extracted in the country and the rest is imported. Precious foreign exchange is spent on importing fuel products.
Senior officers of BPCl, HPCl and IOCl and a number of school children were present at the function.