Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In the drugs afflicted Kashmir Valley, the youth are being badly affected by the use of addictive drugs like heroin and ganja with lives of thousands of boys and girls being destroyed by drugs. While drug addiction is adversely affecting the health of the addicts on one hand, the costly drugs are ruining the financial condition of the victims.
Sohail (name changed) has been addicted to heroin for the past three years. In a special conversation with ETV Bharat, Sohail said that at first he wanted to do drugs after seeing his friends and once he used heroin, he became addicted to it. "I spent about 30 lakh rupees in the last three years to meet the demand for heroin.
Of the total amount, Rs 20 lakh was saved from my salary and Rs 10 lakh I took as loan,” he said. Sohail works as a Surveillance Engineer in a bank, which has currently suspended him from services. Sohail, 30 years old, said that his daily expenditure on heroin was around Rs 14,000. “I became distant from my parents and my close relationship and not only money but also honor was lost,” he said.
Also read: Kashmir valley reports steep rise in drug abus
Sohail, who is now undergoing treatment at the Drug De-Addiction Center of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Srinagar to get rid of the drug addiction, now wants to forget his past and live a better life. Significantly, a recent survey conducted by the Srinagar's Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences has found that the number of heroin and ganja addicts averaged 88,000 per month.
One gram of heroin costs Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. Heroin injections are on the rise among the drug addicts in the valley as a result of which every third youth who is addicted to drugs is also found to be suffering from hepatitis C disease. The IMHANS survey has revealed that Jammu and Kashmir has overtaken Punjab in drug addiction.
More than 10 lakh people are addicted to drugs in Jammu and Kashmir, including more than 100,000 women, the survey said.
