Heart wrenching faces greet one at the Drug De-Addiction Center (DDC) in GMC Srinagar. Heroin has become the main drug of abuse in Kashmir with a staggering 95 percent of patients addicted to this lethal psychotropic drug, hospital data reveals.
On the ground floor, in the Female Ward, a visibly pregnant woman in her late 20s is seen pac-ing about, her gaze anxious and grim. She walks to the door and a man, almost her age, meets her with a bottle of juice.
They exchange a few words and the man enters the Male Ward, adjacent to hers. They both lie down in their respective hospital beds. The couple, mar-ried for two years, is admitted for de-addiction of IV Heroin.
“Our social fabric, hundreds of lives and the prospect of a safe future for the young generation is being blown to dust with heroin abuse,” says Dr Yasir Hussain Rather, In-Charge of the DDC.
He says that in the past two years, he and his colleagues have been overwhelmed by the huge proportion of heroin abusers among people seeking treatment for addiction.—GK
