No govt funds, no condoms

Playing safe: Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society has distributed
57,600 condoms for vending machines at 100 spots, and another 1.26
lakh at bus stands for Rs 5 and Rs 15. Representation pic

Muralidharan, a representative from Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS), said that now there are no machines in operation, but no one has the answers as to why the funding has stopped. "I don't know of a single working machine. The only people providing them are private corporations," he said.

He said that they had distributed 57,600 condoms for the vending machines at 100 spots, and another 1.26 lakhu00a0 from bus stands for Rs 5 and Rs 15. They were dispensed from machines that were positioned in prominent public places such as Nirmala Bangalore toilets, and many more in railway stations, bus stands and cinemas.

Yogesh Gupta, condom promotion officer, from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), said that they cannot say how many are still operational as the project has fallen by the wayside.

"We now don't have any project for such machines in the state. There are still some machines but they do not work and we are not getting any funding to maintain them," he said.

Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL), a state-owned condom-manufacturing firm was maintaining the machines. Ajit, a spokesperson for HLL, said that if the program was to continue, that they may have to install new machines, and the government gave them the contract for only three years.

B Sriramulu, Health Minister, under whose tenure the funding was provided, was not available for comments.

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