The Hindu : Front Page : Their purpose is far from served

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Saturday, Dec 01, 2007
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Their purpose is far from served

Raghava M.

Condom vending machines are either dysfunctional or dispense years-old packets

There are 100 machines in Nirmala Bangalore toilets
KSAPS has plans to install 1,705 machines in State

– Photo: K. Gopinathan

Rendered useless: A condom vending machine at a public toilet near Anand Rao Circle in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: Remember the commercial where this dude is embarrassed to ask for a condom at the local drugstore?

Well, if the shy gent tried one of the condom vending machines in Bangalore, he would decide he is better off going back to the pharmacy.

Considering that the State Government installed condom vending machines in public places to mitigate the embarrassment of buying condoms at a shop, and of course to prevent HIV/AIDS, the purpose is far from served.

Despite having installed 100 such machines at the Nirmala Bangalore toilets in the city and many more in railway stations, bus stands and cinemas, several of them are either not in working condition or are badly maintained. Moreover, they are hard to locate.

Reality check

This reporter, on the eve of World Aids Day on December 1, did a reality check and this is what he found about the condom vending machines installed by Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS).

At the Kempe Gowda bus station, there is hardly any indication as to where the vending machine is located.

A thorough search revealed one tucked away in a corner of the public toilet near the KGF platform.

It dispenses three brands, priced between Rs. 5 and Rs.15.

When a five-rupee coin was inserted, out popped a packet. A close examination revealed it was manufactured in June 2005.

Mystifyingly, next to this machine was a box containing freebies.

Seeing the dust on the packs, it appeared no one had even ventured near them in a long, long time.

The situation in the city railway station was no different. One vending machine has been installed in a dingy public toilet on the fifth platform.

The other is located in the toilet of the second class waiting room on platform No. 1. But people can enter here only if they have a reservation ticket. Many of the vending machines in the public toilets on various roads have not been working. Take for instance the machine at the Nirmala Bangalore toilet near Ananda Rao Circle flyover.

“We have locked it as not many use it,” said the boy manning this toilet which, incidentally, is in good condition.”

The machine in the public toilet near Bhagawan Mahavir Jain Hospital is also not working.

Some of the machines in cinemas have not been working because of the problem related to payment of commission to people maintaining them.

Sources in the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society said the boys maintaining the machines had stopped filling condom packets as they had not been paid their commission.

Among the cinemas where machines have not been functioning include those in Shivaji Nagar.

Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society Project Director Mohan Chakravarty refused to comment on the vending machines.

The KSAPS has claimed that 57,600 condoms have been distributed from the vending machines in 100 toilets.

About 1.26 lakh pieces have been distributed from the machines in the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus stands.

The KSAPS had planned to install 1,705 machines in the State.

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