SURAT: Just ahead of Diwali, two teens got down from an auto rickshaw near Gandhi Baug, spent couple of minutes on road pretending as if they had come for a hangout. After sensing that they were followed by none, they walk fast towards Parivartan Vyasan Mukti Kendra (PVMK), a de-addiction centre.
PVMK’s counsellor instantly recognised that the steps walking towards the centre were that of drug addicts, albeit teenage girls.
The idea of ‘drugs’ and ‘drug addiction’ usually creates an image of a man lying on a pavement oblivious to the world or rich teenage boys enjoying expensive shots of drugs with huge amounts of cash at their disposal.
But in the past couple of months as many as five different groups of teenage college-enrolled girls and young women, some of them facing severe withdrawal symptoms, have approached PVMK in Surat seeking help.
“We are oldest de-addiction centre in the city. So, people directly approaching us for treatment is routine for us. But for the first time in my career, I am seeing young girls coming forward for de-addiction. It made me realise how deep-rooted the drug network is,” said Vinay Solanki, who works as project director at PVMK for 15 years now.
Some of these teens had began with smoking weed with classmates and attending hookah parties before graduating to mephedrone persuaded by their peer, male classmates or love interests for whom doing drugs is cool and in fashion.
But it is not just because of severe withdrawal symptoms that the former addicts are approaching the de-addiction centre. The centre is being approached even for medicines – a type of drug – that is provided to them for treatment.
“Most of the drug-addicts come to us for medicines. Due to non-availability of drugs, they are finding a succour in medicines that we provide to deal with the withdrawal symptoms,” said Solanki.
“After a series of successful seizures, we have launched the ‘No Drugs in Surat’ programme. We expect that victims of drug abuse will come forward and we will help them to get out of the clutches of drugs,” said Ajay Tomar, city police commissioner. “As drugs are not available easily in the city, drug addicts will go to de-addiction centres searching for medicines that contain alternative drugs,” said Tomar.