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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Doha, May 15 (PTI): Seeking to set the record straight, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday clarified that he and Arshad Nadeem were never really close friends and said "things won't be the same" after the recent India-Pakistan conflict.

In the aftermath of last month's Pahalgam terror attack, the decorated athlete and his family were bombarded with abuse on social media for inviting Pakistan's Nadeem to the now-postponed NC Classic in Bengaluru.

On the eve of the Diamond League here, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion put things in perspective when asked about his off-field equation with Nadeem, who won the gold medal in the Paris Games last year after the Indian finished at the top of the podium in the Tokyo edition in 2021..

"First I would like to clarify that I don't have very strong relationship (with Nadeem), we were never really close friends or something. But, because of this (tensions on the Indo-Pak border), it will not be like before. But if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect," Chopra told reporters during a press conference.

"Yes, as an athlete we have to talk, I have some good friends from the athlete community from all round the world, not only in javelin throw, but also other events. If somebody talks to me respectfully, I will also talk to him with full respect..

"Javelin is a very small community and everyone is competing for their country and everyone wants to give their best.".

The Paris Games silver-winning star from Haryana had earlier said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family's integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts after an invitation was extended to Nadeem to compete in the tournament held in his honour.

Chopra had then clarified that invites for NC Classic were sent out a day before the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with links to Pakistan..