DIMAPUR, MARCH 16 (MExN): In an SOS to the Nagaland State Aids Control Society, the Tizit Town Public Organization has asked for resources to help in containing AIDS in the border town, and to work alongside the Pastors Union of the area. “This can be done by establishing one Drop-in Centre at Tizit Town and thus lay the foundation stone to fight HIV/AIDS,” TTPO President Khampei Konyak said.
“Tizit is a commercial centre and the main gateway of Mon District. But owing to its proximity with Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar, there is an increasing number of immigrant populace who work in timber and stone factories, tea plantations, etc.”
Among them, most are school drop-outs and due to lack of awareness, unprotected sexual activities and use of unsterilized needles and syringes are prevalent, Khampei stated.
“Moreover, more than 40 trucks from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, UP, Bihar and other places visit Tizit everyday augmenting the chances for wide spread of HIV/AIDS. Tizit is a major drug trafficking zone of Mon District and very vulnerable.” Drugs are said to be smuggled from across the Myanmar border through Tizit into India. The worst-hit group is school dropouts, illiterate and unemployed youth.
Though the Pastors Union has been involved in eradicating the “social evil” with the funds contributed by local churches, but “just preaching in the church about it alone without any pragmatic solution is in vain,” the union stated.
