A dignified death for terminal AIDS patients is what Kayakalpa, a local organisation working with HIV positive patients, seeks from a Rs 1 crore project that is coming up just 23 km from Pune at Kajalbori village.

Taking a cue from the fact that there is an estimated 10,000 commercial sex workers (CSWs) in Pune and the alarming disclosure by the National Aids Research Institution that 40 per cent of those coming for check-ups are testing HIV positive, Kayakalpa has started work on building an AIDS care centre that will provide the basic comforts of life along with medical and physical attention to AIDS patients.

Three acres of land has been made available to the organisation, through an anonymous donor, where an AIDS Care Centre is to come up in a year's time. DrNitin Bora, project director, is keeping the identity of the donor a closely guarded secret. All he is willing to disclose is that the mysterious do-gooder has 11 acres of land and no children, and has been wanting to help through a socially useful project.

Work has been set into motion with Rs 13 lakh already promised to Kayakalpa, of which a sizable chunk is coming from the State Government.

While Bora promises that the centre will be ready in a year's time, the other two projects also scheduled to come up on the same piece of land are expected to take time.

These include a self-empowering income-generating scheme for HIV positive cases and an entertainment centre for the residents of the area.

While funds are being sought through international agencies and prominent industries, the idea is to keep the project local and to seek help from HIV positive persons to run the centre.

A unique approach is being tried by involving local Ganesh mandals for garnering information. ``We have approached Ganeshmandals to help us in identifying the HIV positive and full blown AIDS cases in their localities,'' says Bora.

The aim is to use HIV positive people to form self-help groups that will help in the hospital and day-care centre at Kajalbori. Kayakalpa was started in 1993 for AIDS awareness and has been working with CSWs as well as focussing on sex education in schools.