Sujjon (Nawanshahr), April 7
Their “highs” came crashing down to touch a new low only to be grounded forever. It took a traumatic fortnight to kick drugs out of their lives and, today, 43 “free” men walked out of the quagmire of drugs to a new life — that of happy families, love and dignity.
At a drug de-addiction camp at the village, the addicts turned a new leaf, relieved from the constant craving for drugs and committed to change. The camp was organised by Upkaar, a district-level coordination committee of around 35 non-governmental organisations, also credited with raising its voice against female foeticide in the district.
And, today, as they waited to return to their family fold, they relived the horror of drug addiction for one last time before giving it a quiet burial and moving on.
Among the many happy faces was that of 52-year-old Puran Singh, a resident of Hoshiarpur, who was motivated to choose life over drugs by his school-going son.
“For 12 years, I consumed poppy husk on the sly. Being a driver, I had to be on the move. So it wasn’t a problem to keep it under wraps. Then, one day, my son asked me if I was addicted to poppy husk. He refused to take no for an answer and I admitted to being an addict. With tears in his eyes, he asked me to quit the habit. That struck a chord somewhere and I enrolled for the camp. My son taught me a lesson that I will never forget,” says this proud father who honoured the commitment he made to his son.
While Puran Singh is looking forward to making a decent living by tilling his four acres of land, Jagjit Singh of Ladhana Chaki village has taken on the responsibility of bringing errant chemists, selling scheduled drugs without prescription to anybody.
“Two chemists shops have been already sealed. The third chemist gave the raiding team a slip because somebody in the government machinery had informed him in advance. I ruined precious years of my life due to drugs. I know the source and I know the victims. My mission is to bring these callous culprits to book as also to help others say no to drugs,” he maintains.
Also, in the reckoning are two brothers, Prince and Honey. They also gave up drugs at the camp. In their early 20s, the two were hooked on injecting drugs and popping tablets for their “walk in the clouds”. “The body has to pay too big a price for that feeling of a high. The catch lies in not experimenting with drugs. Before you know it, you are too deep in the quagmire to pull yourself out. At the camp, if you can exercise restraint and live through the first 72 hours without drugs, half the battle is won,” they maintain.
Baljit Kumar, a postgraduate in political science from Panjab University, took to drugs to alleviate his pain. “My brother refused to pay for my education. I passed the BEd entrance, got through a bank exam, started classes for appearing in the PCS when my elder brother decided he could not pay for my education anymore. From there started my decline. But now I wanted to live again and so came to the camp,” he maintains. Being a trained electrician, he plans to take a loan and set up a shop.
Upkaar general secretary Jaspal Singh Gidda says, “This is the third successful camp by us under the guidance of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Krishan Kumar. There are lots of addicts out there who needed to be helped. We just facilitate the process through our volunteers, some former drug addicts who educate schoolchildren and college-goers about the drug menace. We have made an encouraging start.”
The biggest challenge before Upkaar is that of medicinal drugs, which is gradually assuming alarming proportions. The youth has graduated from liquor and poppy husk to medicines, but the movement against drugs is also building up.
At the camp, there is singularity of purpose — that of beginning life afresh and it begins with saying no to drugs, he adds.
