According to sources in the voluntary organisation Indian Health Organisation, the consignment was received in the evening and has been distributed among prostitutes in Kamathipura, Falkland and Nagpada areas. Further, the state government has assured a regular supply of five lakh condoms from next month, sources added.

The matter came to the fore when National Aids Control Organisation Project Director J V R Prasad Rao requested the state government to resume the free supply of condoms with immediate effect. The alarm assumes significance as more than 20,000 of the city's estimated population of 30,000 sex workers are infected with HIV. The shortage of condoms could result in as many as 50 new infections each day.

Moreover, the flesh trade gets brisk during Diwali. A sex workercan easily manage to earn at least four times her usual earnings during this festival, sources in the red-light area revealed.

Speaking to Express Newsline, Project Director Dr Alka Gagate of Maharashtra State Aids Control Society (MSACS) said that the consignment was ready for despatch. There is no further shortage of condoms, she added.