Bengaluru: Under the scheme of Karnataka government, 27 lakh kitchens are expected to become smoke-free as the needy families in the state will get free LPG cylinders soon.

In the first phase, 10 lakh beneficiaries have already been identified under this scheme. Letters on have also been dispatched to such recipients. In the next stage, remaining eligible beneficiaries will even get LPG cylinders free of cost.

Building and construction laborers will be identified under this scheme jointly by the labor department, social welfare department, and food and civil supplies department. The government has recognized food and civil supplies departments as the nodal agency for implementing this scheme.

The state government will bear the cost of providing LPG connections to the beneficiaries' houses, which comes to Rs. 4,040 per home. This includes a gas stow and a liter.

After utilizing first two cylinders, the beneficiary must pay to book for next cylinder. All beneficiaries have been identified through ration cards. Preference has been given for those covered under 'Antyodaya' scheme and those who are not using LPG cylinders currently.The other condition for the selection is that the families should not have been the beneficiaries of the central government's 'Ujwala' scheme.

For more details about the scheme, additional director of food and civil supplies department, Arundhathi Chandrashekhar, can be contacted on Mobile No. 9448849503.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday said a 7-km railway barricade has been approved for the Madikeri division and 20 km for the Nagarhole division in 2025–26 to curb human-elephant conflict in the regions.

Responding to a proposal raised by BJP MLC Suja Kushalappa during Zero Hour in the Legislative Council, he assured that work on the proposed railway barricades would begin soon.

Citing the death of a 17-year-old girl in an elephant attack on February 28 and that of a tribal woman on March 9 in the state, the minister said these deaths caused by elephant attacks were "extremely painful".

"Human life is very precious and cannot be valued in monetary terms. The Forest Department is taking all measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict."

The minister further said steps such as maintenance of elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered fencing were being undertaken, while two elephant task forces were currently in operation.

Orders have also been issued by the Chief Wildlife Warden to capture two rogue elephants.

In both cases, Rs 5 lakh compensation has already been disbursed to the families of the deceased, and the remaining Rs 15 lakh each will be provided within a week, he added.

Khandre said the government was making sincere efforts to find a permanent solution to the human–elephant conflict.