Highway In my Veins (HIV)... is a documentary on truckers of India. This film has won the MIPDOC challenge 2005, at Cannes for the best documentary.
An ESP Film, this docu is about how millions of truck drivers are victims of HIV in India. How painful is their ride from bad road conditions to an income of less than 6 dollars per month.
The truck drivers in India are anywhere in the age of 20 to 45 yrs....or more, living in the worst conditions a man can ever stay, poor salary and a risk factor of death wandering over them every minute they drive. This docu focuses on how Indian truck drivers are percieved in the eyes of common man as a person who is not trust worthy, who is an addictive, who is a labourer, etc...
But these men are living in their 6x4 cabin for months away from home, no sense of belonging, no one to ask for, driving on roads for more than 36hours at a stretch, with uncomfortable seats, unergonomical cabins, alcohol and sex to distress them, bad road conditions to add to their frustration and police or toll officials who beat them up and dont respect them.....as if overloading their trucks was their call and not the management, though they have no support from any organisation in India.
They battle the stigma of being HIV AIDS carriers of India. The fact is HIV count of truckers in India is at a rise as high as that in 5yrs it will be equal to Africa.
A few facts that have never been considered by truck companies in India, designs of these trucks are not changed or remained unchanged since the IInd world war and more so the ergonomics is not so comforting. These truckers are the lifeline of India for daily goods cargo of more than some millions of kgs every day which are transported by these people daily by road.....where even a train can never reach.......places like Leh Ladak. There are no haults except a dhaba which offers them refreshments and water to drink and bathe on few occasions.........but on a longer distance, its not even that. If there is a overloading on the truck it affects the balance of the truck causing it to have accidents which are very common on highways or narrow roads. Lack of sleep is another cause for their accidents on roads.
Thefts and punctures are just a few more to add to their list of worries. Most of them travel alone....no company just a radio for entertainment. They live in a cabin where the engine noise annoys them, the temperature in the cabin is unberable, splashing water to give refresh feeling are some pleasures in these odds. Also if they meet with an accident or anytheft they are not compensated for anything, but truckers are responsible for everything.
The question is has Indian truck association forgotten what will it take if such a rising number of truckers face such problems with high risk? What is the future of truckers with HIV in India? Are truck companies going to give them more comforting driving possibilities? Is design going to solve any issue? Does the system need to change? Do we need a new mode of transport for such our daily goods?
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