|
In Gurdaspur's
sleepy village, HIV positive killing many
DALLA (BATALA):
Exposing the shallowness of claims of medical care in Punjab, HIV
positive people in the border district of Gurdaspur are dying so
quitely it is not even making news headlines.
The killer virus
has claimed at least 20 lives, including seven couples, in Dalla
village under Qadian block, as per unofficial figures, but
administration and district health department remains bliss unaware
ot apathetic.
There is a
marked antipathy towards the truck drivers, who are widely accused
of bringing the virus from shady areas of Mumbai,
Delhi,
Pune and Kolkata.
The first HIV
death at the village was reported in 1987. Gurmeet Kaur had
contracted the virus from her truck driver husband, Dalbir Singh,
who died soon after.
The villagers
have been truck owners and drivers for decades, their business
operations taking them to Mumbai and Pune.
Nearly 200 of
them have migrated to these cities.
Mangal Singh, a
local villager, lost four of his family his two sons and two
daughters-in-law to HIV. His sons Gurnam Singh and Jaswant Singh
had brought the disease from Mumbai, he says. Gajjan Singh and three
of his family wife Harjit Kaur, brother Harjeet Singh and a cousin
are among the casualties of the deadly virus.
Villagers say
the actual figures could be way higher. Many cases have gone
undetected. Lakhwinder Kaur, wife of Chanchal Singh, contracted HIV
from a re-used syringe.
Chief Medical
Officer, Gurdaspur, Dr H.S. Batra said he was not aware but a health
department team had been formed to monitor HIV cases at the village.
Dr Gurvinder Singh, SMO, Civil Hospital, Qadian, leads the team
which would provide free-of-cost HIV test kits and treat villagers
for free.
The identity of
HIV patients would not be disclosed, he said.
He called upon
social and voluntary organisations to come forward to educate people
about the killer virus.
14
October 2009
|
Read Also