On patients’ demand,HC stops Arcon shutdown

The court has issued notices to the state government,Union Ministry of Health,ARCON and its director.

Arcon was about to be closed on April 30 and the patients and their families had filed a PIL against the move,fearing that the support and social acceptance they had at Arcon would not be matched anywhere else.

According to Jamshed Mistry,who appeared for the patients,Arcon employees had even been given termination letters.

Mistry submitted that the institution should continue running,following which a division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice V K Tahilramani gave the directions and adjourned hearing till June.

The PIL states that in 2004,Arcon,which was started with the help of University of Texas in 1994,received funds from the Global Fund to Fight Aids,Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) for a period of five years.

Advertisements for the “sixth round” of GFATM funding were issued in 2006.

Had Arcon applied in time to the central government,the situation would not have cropped up,claim the petitioners.

The PIL alleges that Arcon director handled the issue rather callously and casually while submitting its report to the Centre by June 2006. This resulted in the funding not being renewed,the PIL states.

The PIL says that nearly 10,000 patients are registered with Arcon and all of them will stand to lose on quality treatment. According to Mistry,around 6,000 patients were treated there in March.

In 2003,Arcon had applied for the second round of funding,and got it. It was only for a five-year period ending April 2009.

The petitioners urged the court to direct the Centre and the state to provide funds to keep Arcon going. Arcon,Mumbai’s first HIV and AIDS research body,provides free medicines and counselling to AIDS patients.

Patients feel that if Arcon is shut down,they will be deprived of their life-support.