Trucker AIDS initiative: Raston Ka Rahee-Jaagriti Rath.

[Guest guest]

No carriers of AIDS, these highway truckers (FEATURE)

16-February-2004

Ahmedabad, Usually blamed for transporting the dreaded AIDS virus on their

inter-state haul, a group of truckers are now carrying a message of a different

kind across India - that of awareness and prevention. They have seen their

colleagues die ignominious deaths, leaving their families on the death row. And

now they are determined to put a stop to it and instead generate awareness on

the national highways - the highest HIV/AIDS-prone zone in the country. Meet the

100-odd truckers, waging a war against the scourge of HIV/AIDS under the aegis

of All India Transport Welfare Association (AITWA).

Founded in 2001, with 8,500 offices and 850,000 members, AITWA has rolled out a

caravan of trucks titled " Raston Ka Rahee-Jaagriti Rath " .

Flagged off by Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat from Haryana Jan 7, the

truckers will cover 1,100 high-risk points across the country over the next two

and a half years.

" I know many of my fellow truck drivers who died of AIDS after indulging in

unsafe sex with street walkers on the highways. My son is also a truck driver

and I am worried about him, " said Rajendrabhai Parmar, one of the truckers in

the caravan from Vadodara, 110 km from here.

" Though I have sensitised him to the danger of AIDS on the highways, what about

thousands of truckers like him, falling prey to the disease. It is our duty to

save them. "

This caravan has so far crossed the national highway in Gujarat, covering dozens

of villages and wayside eateries in the state. At each stopover, AITWA will put

up a documentary film featuring real life cases of HIV/AIDS affected truckers

and their lives. The film has been translated into the various languages of the

states through which the caravan will pass.

A team of health officers and volunteers is also accompanying the truckers. The

total cost of the campaign is pegged at Rs.500 million. A survey conducted by

AITWA in the high-risk points across the country revealed that approximately

seven percent of truckers were infected with HIV and more than 31 percent were

afflicted by sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

" Contracting HIV is as common on the highways as getting food or alcohol at the

'dhabas' (roadside eateries). The truckers are always in danger of becoming

carriers of HIV virus, " Ashok Goel, managing director, Bombay Ludhiana Roadways

(BLR), told IANS.

Goel, who is coordinating the AIDS awareness project among the truck drivers, is

here along with a few representatives of AITWA to follow up on the drive they

carried out in Gujarat last week.

" We are trying to install condom vending machines in different dhabas of

Gujarat, " said Kishanji Rathwa, a trucker from Dahod, 200 km from here.

The AITWA and BLR are jointly working on the scheme to install condom vending

machines at roadside eateries, petrol pumps and transport hubs across the

country.

" Launching the caravan was the first step in our fight against HIV/AIDS on the

Indian highways. In order to sustain our mission in the long run, we require

active support from the central government, " said Goel.

" We have requested the government to declare a day highlighting the plight of

transporters and their AIDS awareness. The day could be named 'Parivahan Jagriti

Divas (Transporters' Awareness Day).' " Indo-Asian News Service

http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=26737

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

We are an NGO founded by Anand Group, leading auto parts and systems

manufacturer. Anand factories are located in Parwanoo (HP), Gurgaon

(Haryana), Chennai, Hosur (Tamil Nadu), Bangalore, Dharwar/Hubli, Nashik,

Pune, Satara, Mumbai (Maharashtra) Dewas (MP), Noida (UP).

Will the Trucker AIDS initiative " Raston Ka Rahee-Jaagriti Rath " . team be

visiting these site? Give me details please

Indira

E-mail: <indira@...>