The centre was started on September 2, 2005, and has so far, around 300 odd families enrolled with it. The centre has been working towards providing relief to the AIDS infected people in the form of providing free medication, spreading awareness and safeguarding their social as well as legal rights.

Although the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) provides free medicines to the affected, affording baseline test that includes blood count test, haemoglobin test, continues to be a problem for the patients.

Besides this, patients demand provision of free transportation service; for they are unable to bear heavy transportation cost and thus avoid the treatments.

The Viral Detect Test that the patients need to undergo is also quite expensive and is not funded by the NACO because it provides free medicines only under the Anti-Retro Viral Therapy (ART).

Moreover, NACO provides medicines on the basis of blood count. In some cases the HIV positive patients do not have a low blood count and therefore are not considered for a free treatment.

“It is the shortage of funds that hampers the work of this society. Although a PIL demanding facilities such as baseline tests and transportation has been filed but it is still pending,” said Pooja Thakur, the president of Chandigarh Network of People Living with HIV AIDS.

Veena Sharma of Human Rights Law Network said that another petition called as PUCL vs Union of India was pending with the Supreme Court, which demands the HIV infected people must be issued Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards to avail free medication.

The patients also demand setting up of separate institutions to rehabilitate the affected women and children.

“The HIV affected people need special care that cannot be provided at Bal Sudhar Kendra’s or Naari Niketans, where they are sent,” said Sharma.

When contacted, director of the State AIDS Control Society Dr Vanita Gupta said that there was no dearth of funds and the affected people were being provided the required aid free of cost. On baseline tests, she added that patients have to bear the costs and only BPL families are exempted from paying for these tests.

Commenting on the provision of free transport facility, she said that since relief centres were already functioning in places like Simla, Amritsar , Rohtak and Patiala, therefore, there was no need to deport patients to the Chandigarh centre.

“Why should Chandigarh bear the economic burden of these patients? Since we have centres all over India, the patients can avail the relief in these centres,” said Gupta.