Screening of expectant mothers for dreaded AIDS and HIV should be intensified in the larger interest of the health of new born babies, president of Forum of Parliamentarians on AIDS Oscar Fernandes said today.

"It will be a crime if we do not detect the disease among pregnant women at right time. This testing before delivery would save the new born babies from being an HIV infected child," he said on the occasion of launching the Puducherry Legislators Forum on HIV and AIDS here.

He stressed on the need for encouraging institutional deliveries. In north-eastern states, the percentage of institutional deliveries ranged between 12 to 20 per cent.

"This is a very less number as with around 80 to 90 per cent deliveries taking place at home there was little chance of checking as to how many women carried the HIV AIDS virus.

Highlighting the features of the formation of the fora of legislators in the states, he said these would enable elected representatives work together sans political differences to keep HIV or AIDS away by generating awareness among the people to control the spread of the disease.

Fernandes, a former union minister, said creation of awareness about HIV and AIDS among the youth in schools and colleges was absolutely necessary as youth of today were very vulnerable to the ailment.

He said although the number of people affected by the disease was not high in Puducherry, still it was vulnerable because of the large number of tourists visiting the union territory.

'We should be very very cautious on this front', he said adding the Puducherry Government had taken up the issue very seriously. With the formation of the present forum awareness among the people would be created.

Chief minister V Vaithilingam inaugurated the forum.

Welfare minister M Kandasamy said the government was providing assistance to HIV or AIDS affected patients to take treatment.

Puducherry director of medical services Dr Dilip Kumar Baliga said the government had targeted voluntary testing of one lakh people in the age group of 18 to 55 years for HIV. Of the 68,000 people tested in the last three months, there were 342 HIV positive cases.

Legislators of different political parties participated in the deliberations organised by the Pondicherry AIDS Control Society.