“Rehabilitation is a Process. It Takes Time. It takes Patience. It takes everything you’ve got.’’
– John Mariotti
The government, the civil administration and the Indian Army has thus started working in tandem to address the issue of drug menace in the UT and taken initiatives in Kupwara District. With the overwhelming response at the awareness campaigns, a Drug De-addiction and Counselling Centre (DDCC) was formally established at Kupwara under Operation Sadbhavana of Indian Army in association with SDH, Kupwara on 08 November 2023. The DDCC Kupwara was set up in liaison with the Civil administration with a view to conduct awareness among the local population, provide psychological counselling and required medical assistance to the affected patients by medical experts. The Centre hired a Psychologist to provide the medical counselling and a Mobiliser for the necessary social outreach. Moreover, an approved Government practitioner visits the facility thrice a week for the specialist treatment.
The outreach programs have been instrumental in creating the much-needed awareness among the youth and elders alike and wean away the youth from indulging in these life-threatening practices of drug abuse. Multiple Awareness Programs have been conducted by the DDCC, Kupwara at various schools and centers since its inception. The same has resulted in steady increase in the number of patients/ addicts utilizing the facility at the DDCC. The center has been able to show a steady increase in the footfall amid the positive feedback from the visiting patients. The efforts of Army in recognizing the magnitude of the problem and taking concrete steps in alleviating them has been appreciated by the locals in and around Kupwara.
Drug addiction is a complex disease that results from several factors as genetic predisposition, history of violence at home, stress, unemployment, etc. Understanding the root cause is the best way to improve treatment options and outcomes of drug addiction in future. This grim picture of drug abuse in the Kashmir valley has posed a lot of challenges for the people of the valley in particular. The biggest challenge is the illegal trafficking and sale of drugs within the valley to which police and general have an important role to play. Some recent reports suggest that there is a large number of Opioid cultivations going on in Kashmir that makes it more readily available for consumption and others psychotropic medicines are also easily accessible. With full public support and cooperation, Police can work more efficiently towards this menace. The other challenge is the limited facilities available for rehabilitation of drug addicts. More drug de addiction centres are needed to rehabilitate the victims. Lack of awareness about both Drug Addiction and the process of detoxification and rehabilitation is also a challenge.
The biggest challenge is the illegal trafficking and sale of drugs within the valley for which the state police forces have an important role to play. The other challenge is the limited facilities available for rehabilitation of drug addicts. More drug de-addiction centers are needed to rehabilitate the victims. Lack of awareness about both Drug Addiction and the process of detoxification and rehabilitation is also a challenge. Government Agencies, Educational institutes, NGO’s and other social work institutes need to educate people especially the younger generation about this problem. The awareness on the part of parents and caretakers is also an issue to tackle so that they can detect this problem as early as possible and they can provide immediate help to the person. Research has revealed that enhancing a victim’s social support and inculcating in him/her some positive behavior can help the individual get rid of this menace. Drug Addicts often feel isolated and sense of alienation, so providing them certain kind of social and moral support will help them and make them more empowered to get over this problem. Establishment of DDCC, Kupwara is an important step towards addressing this issue; however, there is an immediate requirement of setting up of many more of such de-addiction centers and involvement of all stake holders including the society for fighting this evil purported by our neighbor with evil intentions.
