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Young girls looking to battle drug addiction pin hopes on rehabs in Ludhiana
In the wake of the increasing number of women addicts, a special drug-addiction centre has been proposed to be set up in Ludhiana .
A 20-year-old girl who reached a de-addiction centre in the city expressed her desire to break free from the clutches of drugs, which, she said, had inflicted immense physical and mental pain onto her.
The girl, who wished to remain anonymous, said she got addicted to drugs at the young age of 18 after being introduced to them by her friends.
Having lost her parents at a young age, she was looked after by her brother — who also became an addict. She started abusing heroin and later cocaine, quitting school soon after. Although she came from a financially stable household, her addiction pushed her into prostitution.
“To meet my need for drugs, I turned to prostitution. At last, I decided to end the ordeal and approached the government run de-addiction centre for treatment,” she said, adding that she first turned to Dr Dwarka Nath Kotnis Acupuncture hospital for treatment.
“My ordeal did not end as the medicine did not suit me and I suffered vomiting,” she said, highlighting that she has come across many other women who are facing similar problems.
Dr Inderjeet Dhingra, head of Dr Dwarka Nath Kotnis Acupuncture hospital, said the situation is alarming and children as young as 12 are falling prey to drugs.
According to the district’s de-addiction centre officials, around 5% of the addicts visiting the centre are women, but their number is tipped to be much higher. One of the main reasons that women do not seek help, they added, was the fear of being ostracised.
In the wake of the increasing number of women addicts, a special drug-addiction centre has been proposed to be set up in Ludhiana .
Dr Arvind Goyal, in-charge at the district de-addiction centre, said a dedicated facility for women runs from Kapurthala. He added that they refer their women patients to the facility keeping in view their security, but remained hopeful of the impact that a similar centre coming up at Ludhiana would have on the ground.
