Reining youngsters
The grimy picture of substance abuse in Guwahati and other places of NE on rise. Deepa K. Basfore depicts…
The changing ‘India’, in terms of all aspects, has a mixed bag of positive and negative impacts on the society. The Indian society which has many taboos has been exposed to the modernized world from a long time now which is whole heartedly welcomed at least by the youngsters.
Incidents are many – few known while others unknown, few exposed while others unexposed. Pop music, western outfits, going to discos, pubs and partying with friends are quiet acceptable today, in the name of modernity. And needless to mention, alcohol and cigarette are a trend for all ‘Mr. & Miss Cool’ . Ganja, Opium, Weed, Heroine are the common known drugs, which are illegal, both for selling and consumption. With growing innovations in this sector, drug users find new ways – such as human blood, ice, mosquito repellant and so on for their ecstasy which are too difficult for the Government to ban.
Apart from that, another difficulty in the drug dealing and consuming cases are that people, mostly youngsters, choose their hostel or rented rooms where they lock themselves to take drugs and conduct dry parties which restrict alcohol but promote drugs and cigarettes. The trend of ‘dry parties’ is not new in the Guwahati City, even small towns of Assam as well as of Northeast are witness to such parties. These parties have given sleepless nights to the authority as it is very difficult to trace each and every household.
A top official from the Police Department informs, “”There have been more frequent cases of drugs and we often go and raid people in pubs and clubs. We have found various cases where the youngsters lock themselves in room for several days under the influence of drugs. Places like Jalukbari, Zoo Tiniali, Chandmari, and Bamunimaidan are regularly checked and most often we find students under the influence of drugs.”
Interestingly, there is no gender biasness in case of drug consumption at least in the city where the number of female drug users as compared to the male is at par. However, according to the latest data of drug peddlers arrest cases in the city, almost 70% of them are females. Recently, a drug racket has been busted in Delhi, the national capital where 250 college girls were hired to transfer drugs in the entire country.
“”We often check railway platforms and trains; many times we have arrested female drug peddlers with large quantity of drugs. Most of the drug peddlers are in the age group of 20-40″,” informs a Government Railway Police official.
While, the cases of drug abuse are making headlines regularly, but there has been no practical solution to this problem. A great challenge to the society is to stop the drug consumption by the youngsters specifically. Most of the students come from outside the city and reside in the private hostels or rented premises, and easily fall prey to drug abuse. Peer-pressure, homesickness, depression, loneliness are some of the factors for taking drugs.
““I was new in the city and after my classes; I hardly had anything to do. One day, one of my classmates took me to one of his friend’s place where he gave me some leaf and told me that it helps in smoothing the digestion. I felt good and later he introduced me with some tablets, to which I became addicted. Later, I came to know that the leaf was weed and the tablet was banned by the Government. I immediately informed my mother and they took me home”, shares a student who is undergoing counseling.
This is one story where the boy got a chance to be reformed while there are many who are still addicted and have ruined their lives. Though things are changing in the society, it’s upon us to accept or reject the change. And it is the duty of every parent to groom a child properly so that he/she can undergo anything and should know what price they need to pay for their actions.
