KOCHI: Cooking gas for every household had been the slogan that was reiterated by the government at the Centre. However, the rapid increase in the price of LPG has counteracted the much-hyped scheme and catapulted it out of reach of the financially backward comm-unities. Raising the problems caused by the hike in cooking gas price, a 57-year-old woman from Anchumana in Kochi is on a single-woman dawn-to-dusk protest.
For Suma, life has not been a bed of roses. “The LPG price hike was the last nail in the coffin of my already depleted finances,” said Suma, who lives with her bedridden husband in a single-room house on two cents of land. “The price hike has made cooking gas go out of my reach. It is just not me who is finding it difficult when it comes to buying cooking gas. It has gone out of the reach for many,” she added. According to her, using wood as fuel to cook food in a single room house with an ailing person is not viable.
“The smoke is not good for the health of my husband. I have to work in multiple houses as a cook to eke a living. The meagre sum that I earn isn’t enough to cover our expenses,” said Suma, who gets her husband’s medicines with the help of the Vayomitram project.“Due to the restrictions imposed as a result of Covid, it is not possible for many to come together and hold a mass protest. So I told my acquaintances who are also suffering due to price hike that I will hold the protest for them too,” said Suma, who has been buying cooking gas with borrowed money.
According to her, months have passed since the subsidy for the cooking gas was deposited in her bank account.
“Nothing has happened on that front,” said Suma who staged the protest in front of Mamangalam church on Wednesday.“This is just a start. I will be holding similar protests all over the city. I won’t stop until I get a result,” she said.