Rlys plans concessions for HIV patients

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Rlys plans concessions for HIV patients

Raghavendra Rao. Posted online: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 at 0000 hrs

Lalu's next budget may include a 75 per cent waiver on rail tickets

for AIDS victims

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 31: The year 2008 may well ring in some good news

for around 2.5 million people living with HIV and AIDS in the

country. Indian Railways is considering offering fare concessions, as

high as 75 per cent, to HIV/AIDS patients travelling on its network.

The move, quietly in the works at Rail Bhavan, is being regarded as

one of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's big-ticket ideas for the

forthcoming Rail Budget in February.

While the original demand relates to offering fare concessions to

HIV/AIDS patients in a bid to facilitate their travel to the National

AIDS Control Organisation's (NACO) Antiretroviral Treatment (ATR)

Centres offering treatment at subsidised rates at 127 locations

across the country, Railways, it is reliably learnt, are mulling

granting a blanket concession allowing HIV/AIDS patients to avail of

the benefit whenever they travel on trains, irrespective of the

purpose of their travel.

" The demand to offer concessions in fare to HIV and AIDS patients has

been there for the past couple of years with even the National AIDS

Control Organisation (NACO) seeking the benefit for these people.

However, it is for the first time that the Ministry has taken up the

proposal and started working out the modalities, " a senior railway

official told The Indian Express. With the next Rail Budget expected

to be UPA Government's last, officials said that the move,

considering it's populist potential, is almost set to make it to

Lalu's Rail Budget speech.

Indian Railways already offer fare concessions ranging between 50-75

per cent to people having a host of medical conditions. Those covered

under the concessions being offered include orthopaedically

handicapped, paraplegic, blind, mentally challenged, those suffering

from hearing and speech disorders, patients suffering from cancer,

tuberculosis, leprosy, thalassemia, heart and kidney disorders and

ostomy patients. Except for a few categories, these concessions are

made available to one escort per patient.

A person suffering from cancer currently gets a 75 per cent fare

concession while travelling in Second Class, Sleeper Class, First

Class, AC Chair Car and AC 3-tier and a 50 per cent concession while

travelling in AC 2-Tier and AC-1 Tier. Similarly, those suffering

from TB or non-infectious leprosy get a flat 75 per cent concession,

irrespective of the class of travel. Also, while those suffering from

cancer, TB, leprosy and thalassemia are offered fare concessions only

while travelling for treatment or periodic check-up, all the other

categories are offered these concessions irrespective of their travel

purposes.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/256206.html