Red Ribbon Express : RRE in Chandigarh

By Sandeep Juneja

Chandigarh, 17th November 2008: Red Ribbon Express (RRE) AIDs awareness train reached Chandigarh on 16th November on it's two-day halt at this station. This is train's 172nd Spot. The inagural ceremony for the train was done in the presence of Sh. R.K.Rao (Deputy Comissioner), Mr. M.S.Bains (Deputy Health Secretary) State AIDs Control Society members Dr. Sunil Saxena, Ms. Poonam Bakshi, Sh. Kooner (Deputy Director), and Sh.Sukhdev Singh.

Red Ribbon Express was flagged for its journey on 1st December, 2007 by Ms. Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. And was being targeted to cover 180 cities and 43,000 villages and spread the word of awareness amongst villagers. Chandigarh being its 172nd spot and the train is going to Kurukshetra after this halt. The train will finish its journey on 1st December 2008 in New Delhi. This train has 7 coaches, each coach has its specific significance. First three coaches are exhibition on AIDs prevention and precautions, 4th coach has counselling section, 5th and 6th Coaches are for treatment methods.

Mr. Sunil Saxena told us that NYKS (Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghathan) members are taking the charge of the street plays on AIDs. And, he added that there will be approximately 48 performances by theatre artistes accompanying this train. They will cover all the 17 villages in and around Chandigarh. The Street plays and Nukkad Naataks are being organised in Sector 17 and Sector 22, Chandigarh. He told us, "the main concern of the train is to make people aware with these short-scripted plays. School kids or college students, everyone is being a part in this awarenss campaign and we are more than glad to answer their queries."

Not only school students but some parents, some new police recruits, teachers are also looking for the guidance on this social issue. Speaking further he added that two days are too short for this train to cover the entire city, but we finally made it possible by the help of our team and NYKS support.

Doctors and counsellors are keeping all the information confidential. And there is a free medical check up for the disease. Though AIDs cannot be completely cured but there is treatment for it which can increase the life span of the patient.

Article on HIV AIDS Awareness