“In 2003, I would have died but for counselling. At that time there were not as many anti-retroviral therapy centres as there are now. But counselling saved me from death,” said P. Kausalya, president of the Positive Women’s Network, recounting her struggle to stay alive with HIV infection, in a minute-long speech.
Her message rang across the Pitti Theayagaraya hall in T. Nagar on Saturday, observed as World AIDS Day.
A series of programmes were held on the occasion by non-governmental organisations and the State government. The day began with a rally on the Marina Beach by Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), followed by the inauguration of six new anti-retroviral therapy centres in various towns and release of new logos and themes for posters. The society’s focus this year is on raising awareness on the infection.
Health minister V.S. Vijay, who inaugurated the activities, said AIDS or HIV infection makes one an easy prey to a cluster of infections as the virus destroys white blood cells, weakening the body’s resistance to diseases. If AIDS and HIV infections were under control at present, it was due to the emphasis on diagnosis and testing facilities introduced in the State, he explained. It was the same emphasis that had resulted in testing for diagnoses of dengue.
According to him, more people are diagnosed with dengue in the State as the Elisa test had been made mandatory for confirmation of the infection. So far 35,000 had undergone the test and 9,000 had tested positive for the infection, he added.
The theme for this year World AIDS Day was a continuation of last year’s, which was ‘Getting to zero’, said Nicholas Manring, chief, visa section, US Consulate. The World Health Organisation theme for 2011 to 2015 is getting to zero. The world campaign would focus on zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, Mr. Manring said.
According to him, there are 34 million people with AIDS worldwide and the US government was dedicated to making all efforts to involve the civil society in prevention programmes. So far, 4.5 million people world over were covered under anti-retroviral therapy but the aim was to reach six million people, he said.
S. Noorie, president of South India Positive Network, used the opportunity to extend an appeal for restarting community care centres in the city and sought speedier disbursal of the monthly dole of Rs. 1,000 that the government provided for persons living with HIV.
A brief fire broke out at a multi-storey building on Anna Salai, Teynampet, on Saturday.
No one was injured in the incident. Fire department sources said the call came in exactly at 12.28 p.m. to the fire control room informing them that a fire was raging in the third floor office of a private company in the building. Two fire tenders from Teynampet and Saidapet were rushed to the spot and firemen battled the blaze for an hour and put it out.
Over 20 UPS equipment placed on the floor were damaged in the fire which is suspected to have been caused due to an electrical short-circuit, sources added.
We have to look for an alternative, says TRS chief
Having decisively parted ways with the Congress and United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday showed his inclination to tie up with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in his attempts to secure Statehood for Telangana.
“We trusted the UPA to keep its promise on separate Telangana but it deceived us. Thus, we have to look for an alternative and the NDA says it will concede the demand in three months (of coming to power),” Mr. Rao was quoted as stating at the steering committee meeting of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) presided by M. Kodandaram.
Without naming TRS, sources said Mr. Rao emphasised on giving impetus to the parties which stood a chance of winning maximum seats in Telangana to achieve the demand. That will also give ammunition to the JAC, he remarked.
“The TRS did not allow the functioning of the Assembly for the whole session last time with just 20 MLAs. Two of its MPs with the support of NDA also stalled Lok Sabha for four days. Imagine the situation when there are 100 MLAs and 15 MPs of the party,” he added.
Referring to the padayatra by Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress leader Sharmila in Telangana, Mr. Rao reportedly advised JAC to ignore them as they would earn political advantage if they were taken seriously. Mr. Rao called for a psychological and not physical warfare to get Statehood. The people were indifferent to elections. Mere struggles were not enough as political processes also weighed in securing the demand. “For that, we need seats”. He asked the JAC to guard against the danger of people not reacting to a parallel movement in support of integrated State like it happened during the Jai Andhra agitation in 1971.
‘Dwindling human values leading to legal wrangles’
Lok adalats are functioning effectively in resolving legal wrangles by striking a rapprochement between rival parties with mutual consent, A.P. High Court Judge and State Legal Services Authority chairman V. Easwaraiah asserted on Saturday.
The downtrodden, weaker and poorer sections, and women were benefiting from the lok adalats, Mr. Justice Easwaraiah said, after inaugurating a mega lok adalat on Kadapa district court premises. Notwithstanding the technological development, dwindling humaneness and human values are leading to legal wrangles, he remarked.
A sizeable section of people lack legal awareness and hence the Legal Services Authority started legal clinics and engaged para-legal volunteers to create public awareness on the legal safeguards and facilities available to them, the Judge said.
Kadapa District and Sessions Judge Ghouse Basha said hundreds of cases were settled through mutual consent in lok adalats and compensation was paid in motor vehicle accidents. Kadapa Bar Association president A. Sampath Kumar said technological advancements were leading to humans landing on the moon, but people were unable to lead lives with coherence and mutual tolerance, resulting in feuds and hatred. He advised people to get issues resolved by approaching courts or settle cases in lok adalats, but not with the involvement of middlemen.
Mr. Sampath Kumar and Bar Association members felicitated Mr. Justice Easwaraiah by presenting him a shawl, garland and memento. They also felicitated about 20 senior advocates who had been practising in Kadapa district court since 40 years.
“I was amazed to see such professionalism among college teams,” said actor Bharath who was the special guest at the fourth edition of The Hindu Nxg Campus Jive 2012.
Ten teams made it to the finals and set the stage on fire with their power-packed performances.
Hip hop once again dominated the show with a bit of jazz and freestyle thrown in once in a while. The finalists were SSN college of Engineering, Women’s Christian College (evening), SRM University (teams 1 and 2), Stella Maris College, NIT Trichy, Loyola College (girls’ and boys’ teams), Anna University and Madras Institute of Technology.
Judging the event were actor Ashokk and dancer-coreographer John Britto.
The team from Women’s Christian College impressed with their attitude, style and powerful performance and were awarded a well-deserving special prize. Meanwhile, the only out-station team in the finals, NIT-Trichy, placed third after impressing the judges with their antics-packed dance.
Losing by a narrow margin and placing second was team 2 from SRM University who literally lit up the show.
And after missing out on the title last year, the crowd favourites were back — Loyola College (boys’ team) walked away with the cash award of Rs. 1,50,000 besides other prizes. They scored with their style, coordination, props and unwavering energy on stage.
The first and second runners-up pocketed cash prizes of Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 50,000 respectively.
The title sponsor for the event was GRT Stylus. Television partner was Vijay TV, radio partner was Hello FM, grooming partner was Green Trends, event partner was iads & events; dance partner was John Britto’s Dance Co., multiplex partner was Inox, gift partners were Marrybrown, Mahavir Optics, Fruit Shop on Greams Road, The Raintree Anna Salai, Sting, Vogue Eyewear, Landmark and O2 Health Studio.
