HIV PATIENTS MADE TO LIVE OUTSIDE THIS INDIAN CITY; AN AREA WITH NO NAME & ELECTRICITY

In India, the stigma around HIV AIDS continues to be a cause of concern. Close to hundred residents who once lived in the city of Bengaluru, now reside in an area with no name or electricity. The quiet resident area has no name, roads, no electricity metres, no hospital. All the resident shifted to this area by the Karnataka government in 2014 are HIV positive people. 

According to a report in Times Now, the situation is so poor that the residents of the area have to travel at least 40 km to visit the nearby hospital. Some patients of HIV require daily dosage of antiretroviral treatment. However, despite the multitude of challenges, close to a 100 families live in this modern-day ghetto.

According to reports, the citizens were made to shift to the place in 2014 under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme. However, since then, neither the state government nor civic agencies have made an attempt to improve the condition of those living in this unnamed locality. An inspection of the area revealed how HIV positive people live near a quarry where blasting takes place.

Earlier this month, the ministry of health and family welfare declared the enforcement of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency (AIDS) Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017. This act prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS.