With an aim to create awareness among the masses about deadly HIV/AIDS virus, Uttarakhand State AIDS Control Society (USACS) organised a massive awareness rally in Dehradun on Saturday.
The participants including school children raised anti HIV/AIDS slogans during the rally. After flagging off rally, Additional Project Director, USACS, Dr Meenakshi Uniyal, who also urged from the gathering to come forward for creating
awareness among the masses. She said that various concrete measures were taken by the department for curbing HIV/AIDS cases across the State. After stressing that awareness is the only tool for keeping oneself preventing to get deadly HIV, she pleaded from youths to come forward to sensitize masses about the ill-effects of HIV/AIDS.
Dr Uniyal said that the department has been successfully running ICTCs (Integrated Testing and Counselling Centres) in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand besides, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres have been also established in the Government hospitals for disseminating free life saving drugs to patients. She also said that the Government-run pathological laboratories and blood banks are fully equipped with latest equipment to detect infected blood.
After he expressing concern over the increasing cases of HIV/AIDS in Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand, she said that every section of the society should take steps for curtailing myths regarding HIV/AIDS. She said that the department is also planning to extend ART link centres in the other parts of Uttarakhand for
redressing the grievances of those villagers who are living in the remote areas of the State. Dr Uniyal also said that the department is also organizing voluntary blood donation camps in all the 13 districts of Uttarakhand for overcoming the acute shortage of blood in the State and urged from the gathering to come forward to
participate in the voluntary blood donation camps, which have been organised on regular basis in the State. later, the rally was started from Parade ground and passed through Gandhi Park, Clock Tower and finally culminated at Parade Ground. The participants in the rally also disseminated pamphlets, brochures and other reading material in order to create awareness among the masses. A skit for creating awareness on HIV/AIDS was also organized and received overwhelming response from the gathering. Students and participants from different walk of life, NCC cadets, NSS volunteers, members from Red Ribbon Club, NGOs students from MKP (PG) College, MKP inter-college, SGRR PG college, State College of Nursing, DBS college, DAV college and DBIT were also present.