Ludhiana, April 23
“The most worrying thing facing Punjab is the fact that more than 70 per cent of rural and urban youth are in the grip of drugs. They are wasting their lives. I request the youth to give up this bad habit and urge the parents to keep watch over their wards”, said Santandeep Singh after being rehabilitated at Aas Kiran, a de-addiction centre, being run at Model Town Extension, Ludhiana.
Four young men out of curiosity and peer pressure took to drugs and lived in hell as they feel now after being rehabilitated. Gaurav, Gurpreet Singh, Rajan and Santandeep Singh feel they have got a new lease of life and they want to help their friends, who are in the grip of drugs.
Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Rajan said his friends used to take paroxyvon capsules and he started taking them too much as they told him that his work efficiency would increase. He spent Rs 50 daily on the capsules. Gurpreet Singh too out of curiosity started giving himself intravenous morphine injections. He started with one injection and with the passage of time he felt that he needed four to keep himself going. Gaurav, too, took capsules as these are easily available. Santandeep Singh took to taking smack. A gram of smack costs Rs 300. He says as a matter of fact he was trying to get his friend out of the clutches of smack. He tried to see why it had made his friend slave to it. But before he knew, he became addicted to it.
They were helped by Ms Kuldip Kaur, counsellor Aas Kiran, to get out of drugs. At the centre ‘pull-and-push’ method is used which entails four-fold approach. The first step is to treat them for withdrawal symptoms which is very painful. The medicines take care of it. The next step is to take care of their mental health through individual counselling and group counselling. Third step is to give them physiotherapy. The most important thing that helps them is meditation and prayers. After a stay of 15 to 21 days, these boys feel fresh and are ready to face struggles.
