Now, get your cooking gas at your petrol pump

Bangalore: Now, pick up your cooking gas cylinder with minimum fuss at a petrol pump. Five kg cylinders will now be available at selected company owned petrol pumps as part of a pilot scheme - and all you need is a valid identity card. For now the facility will initially be available in just 11 outlets in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore on a pilot basis.

This is a new initiative from the government - cutting out some of the paper work and making it easier to get hold of an LPG gas cylinder. The cylinders are not subsidised - and the first cylinder would cost Rs. 1000 plus taxes and regulator costs - and almost Rs. 500 for a refill.

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Veerappa Moily, formally launched the scheme in south Bangalore in his home state of Karnataka.

He told NDTV this was one of the ways to make things easier for consumers.

This new scheme should help people in transferrable jobs and migrant labourers to quickly get hold of cooking gas with minimal paperwork as no proof of address is needed.

And timings for picking up the gas and later refills would also help those who work long hours - as petrol pumps are open until late. This should be good news for IT and BPO employees who often stay in office until late - and may not be at home to take delivery of cylinders.

Connection portability was also launched in 30 cities across India. This enables LPG consumers to switch to a different gas distributor - even those from different companies.

So it does look as if it might be easier to get your hands on a gas cylinder from now on. You can pick it up at the same place you might go to refuel your vehicle. 

Out and proud: Bangalore radio station for gays and lesbians

Bangalore: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in India has hit the airwaves with a brand-new radio station launched in Bangalore recently.

Called Q Radio, the venture is part of the online portal Radiowala.in, which has over 40 radio channels for various audiences. 

On HqO, one of the shows on Q Radio which describes itself as a show celebrating gender fluidity, Soona, a young lesbian, talks about her experiences of coming out to her husband and parents - on live radio. 

Soona says, "I didn't know the term lesbian or that there were lesbians around. I didn't know any of this. It is not a word ever spoken in Kerala. I didn't know the term to attach to the love I feel."

The show's host, Vaishali Chandra, a former journalist, tells NDTV, "We are focussing on the LGBT community and it is all about them, because there is not a lot of dialogue happening around and that is needed."

Q Radio founder Anil Srivatsa says, "Q stands for queer. It is about giving them a space, a single platform to celebrate or to advocate or be an activist on anything that is close to them. It is not about isolating them - it is about giving both sides the same platform to look at it from their perspective."

Another host, Romal Singh, is part of the gay community himself. For him, this is more than just a job. "I am an out and proud gay person, so the moment I heard of something like this, I just had to be a part of it," he says.

The LGBT community has welcomed the venture. "A lot of my straight friends who really don't know much get an opportunity to know about the lives of queer people. And it is an easy way to access it online," Shyam Konnur says.