12-02-2004, 05:23 AM
<b>5,000 HIV+ cases found in the Army</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
New Delhi, Dec. 1: An internal Army report has revealed that there are over 5,000 HIV-positive cases in the armed forces and on an average 50 more are testing positive each month. The alarming report has prompted the armed forces to quickly take stock of the situation and try to look for solutions.
According to highly-placed sources in the Ministry of Defence, the study found that more than soldiers going abroad on UN assignments, it was the soldiers coming back from tours of duty in the North-East as well as Jammu and Kashmir who were contracting the disease. âThe soldiers constantly live in a tension-filled environment in Manipur, Assam or Nagaland. As soon as they proceed on leave from their far-flung deployment areas, they hit the brothels in Guwahati, Silchar and even Kolkata.
Armed with a couple of bottles of rum they head straight to the red light areas as they find that sex relieves stress,â said highly-placed sources in the Directorate-General of Armed Forces Medical Services. The study has suggested that jawans be given more leave at regular intervals so they head home instead of brothels.
âIf they are given more leave they will not be so desperate and will wait at least till they get home,â the sources added. The study has even listed bigger cities like New Delhi, Jammu and Kolkata from where soldiers are feared to have contracted the virus.
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New Delhi, Dec. 1: An internal Army report has revealed that there are over 5,000 HIV-positive cases in the armed forces and on an average 50 more are testing positive each month. The alarming report has prompted the armed forces to quickly take stock of the situation and try to look for solutions.
According to highly-placed sources in the Ministry of Defence, the study found that more than soldiers going abroad on UN assignments, it was the soldiers coming back from tours of duty in the North-East as well as Jammu and Kashmir who were contracting the disease. âThe soldiers constantly live in a tension-filled environment in Manipur, Assam or Nagaland. As soon as they proceed on leave from their far-flung deployment areas, they hit the brothels in Guwahati, Silchar and even Kolkata.
Armed with a couple of bottles of rum they head straight to the red light areas as they find that sex relieves stress,â said highly-placed sources in the Directorate-General of Armed Forces Medical Services. The study has suggested that jawans be given more leave at regular intervals so they head home instead of brothels.
âIf they are given more leave they will not be so desperate and will wait at least till they get home,â the sources added. The study has even listed bigger cities like New Delhi, Jammu and Kolkata from where soldiers are feared to have contracted the virus.
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