Improved stove with Carbon emission being launched to raise livelihood of communities of 9 districts

An Improved Stove with Carbon Emission Programme is being launched to raise the livelihood of the communities of nine districts in the Far- Western Development Region through improved stoves.

The five-year programme is being brought by the Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal (CRT-N) with the economic and technical cooperation of the Ministry for Environment, Science and Technology, Alternate Energy Promotion Center, and the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), according to state-owned news agency RSS.

It was informed at a programme organized Wednesday that the programme will benefit 150,000 households in seven districts including Doti, Dadeldhura and Baitadi.

The programme is expected to improve the health of women in those districts. According to the study of the Centre, the life-span of women is less there as compared to other development regions and they have been affected in eyes, lungs when they stay about eight hours near the oven in the region.

Initiating the programme, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Dr. Keshav Kaman Shakya said the Ministry is giving high priority to promoting alternative energy and added that economic sector was badly affected by energy crisis.

He said alternate energy sources should be prioritized than large hydropower, and that rural technology should be adopted for this.

Executive Director of the Alternate Energy Promotion Centre, Prof. Dr. Govindraj Pokhrel said there is a need of alternate energy for ending social discrimination, for employment promotion and environment conservation. He said the Centre has so far installed 600,000 stoves and aims to install three million in the days ahead.

Former Environment Minister Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said the problems of rural houses being small with small door and no window has caused weak health of women in the far-western development region and this programme will improve this situation.

Alternate Energy Expert of the SNV, Anujdhoj Joshi said this programme was being launched by the Organization in three countries including Nepal. nepalnews.com