Majority of India’s rural population depends on biomass burning for cooking and heating purposes on traditional cook stoves called Chullah which results into indoor air pollution. The sampling for this study was carried out in two villages of India viz. Budhwada, Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) and Baggi, Himachal Pradesh (H.P.). Both the regions are significantly different in terms of culture, traditions, topography and daily practices and hence this study helped in understanding the contrast between these regions. The concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols viz. OC (Organic Carbon) and EC (Elemental Carbon) were evaluated for different fuel use in four different houses of each village. Introducing the concept of soft approaches, the residents were asked to bring certain changes in their practices by cooking either with solid biomass or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as fuel. The overall average concentration of OC was found to be higher for Budhwada (M.P.) at 124.34 ± 34.68 µg/m3 than at Baggi, (H.P.) with value 105.26 ± 35.63 µg/m3 whereas the reverse was true for the average concentration of EC with value 62.98 ± 20.75 µg/m3 at Baggi, (H.P.) and 55.51 ± 15.51 µg/m3 at Budhwada (M.P.). The average OC and EC concentrations from solid biomass fuel (dung cake) burning at Budhwada (M.P.) was respectively higher by 56.14% and 33.57% as compared to the LPG usage. Similarly, in Baggi (H.P.) village with LPG usage, a significant reduction was observed in OC and EC concentrations (76.69% and 70.10% respectively) when compared with fuelwood burning. House-wise and time-wise variations of carbonaceous aerosols at both the sites confirmed that their concentrations are lower in houses with greater ventilation and higher in cooking times (morning and evening). In Budhwada (M.P.), the concentrations of K+, Ca2+ and SO42- ions decreased significantly from dung cake to LPG use by 67.91%, 76.98% and 51.85% respectively. In Baggi (H.P.), K+ ion concentration was decreased by 63.4% from fuelwood to LPG use. A questionnaire survey conducted on the residents also corroborated the above findings where the residents agreed that LPG use has health benefits over solid biomass fuel usage but the challenges such as supply of LPG into rural interiors, financial feasibility, etc. were of serious concern. Also, changing the contemporary mindset of rural population is a challenging task.
