Karnataka case of AIDS riding on the back of migration

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Karnataka case of AIDS riding on the back of migration

Tuesday January 7, 7:48 PM

Bangalore, Jan 7 (ANI): Why is it that there is an alarming increase

in HIV positive cases in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka? The

answer, interestingly, lies in movement of labour pertaining to the

hotel sector. These people go to Mumbai for jobs, fall victim to the

lure of professional sex workers and contract the dreaded disease.

The people of Mangalore (Dakshin Kannada) and Udupi, two coastal

districts of the state, are known for their spirit of enterprise and

habitual migration to other places for employment, mostly in hotel

industry. The hotel owners pick up young boys from their villages,

take them to Mumbai where their first sex encounter at Kamatipura or

whereever else becomes a continuous affair. They start suffering from

cold and cough which normally turns into HIV positive. In many cases

they are sent back home with some money for treatment.

This is the process of migration of hotel workers and they come back

as carriers of HIV positive and spread it to women and children too.

In the way, the captive labour force of the hotel industry from these

districts are caught in a vicious web.

Half a million people from these districts alone depend on jobs in

hotels.

The Dakshina Kannada district now has more than 1500 HIV positive

cases. The Cochin-Mangalore-Mumbai National Highway and Konkan

railway further accentuate the problem. The port workers and truck

drivers also contribute to the tragedy. The District Administration

and five non-governmental organisations(NGO) are working on this

problem.

It is just the Mumbai's flourishing sex trade which is the culprit.

Blame it on Mumbai's Kamatipura or captive labour migration to the

hotel industry from the coastal districts of Karnataka, the situation

is alarming and condition of some of the identified cases are

pathetic. Nowhere to go, waiting for death in an isolated place is

just painful.

A hotel worker who came back from Mumbai after contracting AIDS

recollects that it was there that he had his sexual encounter and

after some time, it was confirmed that he had the AIDS. He feels

lonely and doesn't know what to do. He knows that he is going to die

but he is also an outcaste in his own community.

There is one patient who has taken shelter in a Christian missionary

home run by Father Joshy. He recollects how he caught this disease.

His persistent cough and cold and TB forced him to come back to his

village in DK district. He is now aware he has got the AIDS but

doesn't know what to do next.

This is what he said: " I was a cook in hotel in Mumbai. I left for

Mumbai at an early age. I had persistent cough and cold and got

tuberculosis. What to do. I am not married. Nobody knows in my family

except for my brother. I feel it is a sin I have committed and

waiting for the end " .

One woman got infected by her husband who works in a hotel in Mumbai.

But she is worried about her son who is also a confirmed HIV positive

case.

" I am from Bangalore " , the woman informed. " I have no parents. Some

family took me to Mumbai and I was doing household work. My husband

was working at his brother's canteen. Only when I gave birth to my

child I came to know about this. Doctor shouted at him. He told me I

got this from my husband. Even my child has got this. I know about

this now. I am only worried about my child. No one helps out except

Father Joshy. Poverty is also responsible. I have not committed any

sin. It is just because of my husband I got this. I advise people,

especially women, to be very careful. For only death is left but I am

worried about this innocent kid. What did he do to deserve this? "

Father Joshy, head of Sneha Sadan serving the HIV positive people at

Kaikamba, a village at the outskirts of Mangalore, blames not only

Mumbai sex industry but also the migration. According to him, more

than hundred cases have been registered in DK districts. In one year,

he had more than 100 cases, all from hotel industry and from Mumbai.

For him, each case was a pathetic story. If the government could stop

migration and provide employment, the menance could be controlled,

according to him.

Nagesh Kumar, a social worker and coordinator of district AIDS

council, says that the district administration with the help of NGO

have taken all possible steps to prevent AIDS.

" We have joined with the government and wants to stop this AIDS

spread. We have coordinated effort in all the taluks to spread

awareness. We are also working out the treatment for the serious

extreme cases " , Ngesh Kumar observed.

The Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, AK Monnappa,

says the administration is aware of the gravity of the situation.

According to him, since the district ranks second in the state in

number of AIDS cases, the administration has taken all preventive

measures. He negates the theory of putting a halt to migration,

saying that migration emerges out of free will. Nevertheless, the

NGOs and the administration are working round the clock to create

awareness among the people. He also blames hotel workers , dock

workers and truck drivers for this situation.

It is estimated that more than half a million HIV positive cases in

India stand sixth in number of cases. The Dakshina Kannada district

in coastal Karnataka has a different problem of its migrant

population to the hotel industry in Mumbai getting into this vicious

web. Moral education and awareness must halt the spread of AIDS in

migrant population, as migration can't be stopped linked as it is to

economy. This is the problem and many migrant labourers becoming

strategic carriers of AIDS.(ANI)

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