The Central prison at Parappana Agrahara has acquired a voluntary counselling and testing centre (VCTC), with the help of Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS).
The brainchild of Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General of Prisons S T Ramesh said, the VCTC is likely to become operational from Tuesday.
“The facility is ready; we have received the equipment. A counsellor and lab technician have also been posted at the centre. We are only waiting for the testing kits to arrive. They are expected by Tuesday. The counselling at the centre has already started,” said Mr Ramesh.
According to KSAPS sources, the testing kits are available and the prison authorities can obtain them any time.
 Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dr Shashikala, Dermatologist and Nodal Officer for Karnataka Prison (HIV/AIDS) said,  there are 13 HIV afflicted prisoners at the Central prison . All of them are males. We have four inmates with full blown AIDS. The latter are getting anti-retroviral therapy from Bowring Hospital. The response to counselling at the VCTC has been encouraging, she added.
Mr Ramesh had requested KSAPS to set up a VCTC in the prison on February, this year. “We are very impressed with the comprehensive AIDS control programme in  the Andhra Pradesh prisons. I want to replicate the model in Karnataka prisons. The facility will cater to the requirement of the entire prison population in Karnataka,” said the officer.
“There was a dire need for a VCTC at the Central prison. We get prisoners with HIV and it becomes difficult to send them to Bowring Hospital for tests. The ‘centre’ has come to us as a veritable boon,” he added.
Condom Box: The prison authorities have also gone a step further and put up a condom box outside the prison, for the use of prisoners, who are either released or are going out on parole. “They meet their families after a long time and sex is a natural desire. We hold health education programmes in the prison to educate them on safe sex. The box was set up last week. Some prisoners are making use of it,” said the doctor. There are plans to establish similar VCTCs at the remaining six central prisons in the State.