Can Puliraja break the silence?

HYDERABAD: Puliraja, a man between the age of 18 and 40, hailing from a lower socio-economic background, is the most elusive person at the moment. A state-wide alert to trace this man of unknown HIV status has been issued in the local press and television networks. But Puliraja has not surfaced yet.
"Puliraja ki Aids vastunda?" (Will Puliraja get Aids?) is the question everyone is seeking an answer to.Households cutting across all socio-economic groups are showing an unprecedented interest in the HIV and Aids scenario in the state — a social and health issue, discussing which till now was considered taboo.
The mass media campaign launched by an international NGO — Population Services International (PSI) — in which bus drivers, rickshaw-pullers, housewives, youth, professionals and retired employees pose a question — "Puliraja ki Aids vastunda?" — to readers or television viewers, has managed to capture the attention of citizens.
The PSI initially launched this advertisement campaign in Visakhapatnam. The project director of the Andhra Pradesh State Aids Control Society (Apsacs) was so impressed by it that he asked the NGO to extend the campaign to the entire state.
PSI programme director, HIV/Aids, Sanjay Rao Chaganti told The Times of India that the aim of the campaign is three-fold: to get people interested in HIV and Aids by starting to talk about it; to remove the misplaced sense of confidence among people that the virus can never infect them; and to encourage HIV-positive people to utilise the services provided.
The next phase of the campaign will go a step further. Studies have shown that the chance of having unprotected sex after a couple of drinks is high. So questions such as ‘Will Puliraja get Aids if he has unprotected sex?’ will scream out of every newspaper and TV channel, Chaganti said. “Once the audience interest is high, we will provide answers also,� he adds.