Rally of candle lights today in memory of AIDS victims

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 19. Andhra Pradesh will witness a unique rally of candle lights on Sunday from 7 pm which will be taken out from prominent landmarks of cities, district/ mandal headquarters and villages as part of International AIDS Candle Light Movement being observed on third Sunday of every May in memory of those who were lost to AIDS and to involve the community in the continued fight against the dreaded disease.

An interesting aspect of the event is that HIV/AIDS patients are being brought to take part in the rallies to tell the world that HIV/AIDS is not communicable as feared by many and that they deserve normal treatment and not social ostracisation. By looks, nobody will be able to identify the patients, says Dr K. Chandramouli, Director, Andhra Pradesh AIDS Control Society (Project), the apex level Government agency dealing with the disease with funds under several schemes. There will be no slogans during the procession the theme of which will be "one voice and many faces".

As it is the first time that such rallies are being conducted, they will be limited for a distance of about one km at all the places. The candle lights are supposed to symbolically shed light on the phobias surrounding AIDS and make things about the disease "visible" for the common people.

At Hyderabad, the Candle Movement will begin from Charminar participated by officials, public, NGOs and members of Maitri Societies formed by the police for achieving peace and amity.

According to details provided by Dr Chandramouli and Dr N. Sivarama Bhrahmachary, Additional Project Director, here on Saturday, there have been more AIDS cases in the south with Maharashtra taking the lead followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Regarding treatment aspect, Dr Chandramouli said, apart from their society (project) at State level which has already started telecounselling system through telephone Nos:4608602/3, Aids Prevention and Control Committees headed by Collectors are working in the districts. A record of 104 non-governmental organisations also involved themselves in the work, each targetting a separate group--sex workers, street children, slums, migrant labour and truck-drivers.

He appealed to the people to subject themselves to tests, saying that they would need to pay only Rs 10 for three random tests at the facilities made available with mircobiology departments of Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, all medical colleges and certain Government hospitals. The tests would take only 15 minutes and the results would be out within two hours.

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