Bhubneswar/Chennai, Dec 1 (ANI): The beach of Puri in Odisha is endorsing a gigantic red ribbon on the occasion of World Aids Day.
On the eve of World Aids Day on Friday, sand artist Manas Sahu and his aides have carved a 200 feet long red ribbon to spread awareness about the disease.
Tourists and locals visiting the beach were already seen watching the massive ribbon near the shore.
India with 2.5 million patients is among the top three countries with the highest number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases, alongside South Africa and Nigeria.
"We want to spread awareness on the occasion of World Aids Day as many people see the disease as a stigma. Hence we have made this red ribbon on the beach," said Sahu.
Meanwhile in Chennai, activists held an AIDS awareness campaign, at the grounds of Madras University.
Students and activists were seen spreading awareness about the disease, urging people to work towards achieving the target of zero new infections.
"Basically we are trying to get zero new infections of HIV and zero death, stigma and violence of the HIV affected people from the society," said Kumar Jayant, project director, Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TANSACS).
The view was similar in Kolkata where the Thalassaemia and AIDS Prevention Society organized a rally to mark the occasion.
Thalassaemia and AIDS patients participated in the rally in a bid to stop the social discrimination attached with the disease.
"Our slogan is -zero Aids, zero stigma and zero HIV affected child. We are observing World Aids Day with this slogan," said Sailen Sen, general secretary of Thalassaemia and AIDS prevention society.
Reportedly, with HIV cases showing signs of rising in the national capital New Delhi, in the financial hub of Mumbai, in the north and the northeast, the cost of treatment in India could rise to $1.8 billion by 2020, about seven percent of the total health expenditure, according to the World Bank. (ANI)
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