NAGAPATTINAM/ Karaikal: When Sivaraman’s son took him to the Gandhiji Integrated Rehabilitation Centre of Addiction, the counsellor, Maheswari, wasn’t too petrified as Sivaraman screamed and howled. Even though he wasted several invaluable years of his life on arrack, he didn’t realise that. Sivaraman was unaware of the ruin caused by his addiction to arrack.He had assumed that he is not alcoholic and has been drinking only to get rid of his physical and mental stress. But he also knew that his wife had left him due to his addiction. His daughter hasn’t spoken to him for more than seven years. Not many masons and farmers have been willing to offer him a job. But these factors, instead of making him quit drinking arrack, made him drink even more.
At the rehabilitation centre, while Maheswari tried to convince him to undergo treatment, Sivaraman was not willing to agree. At that time, a group of 10 people came down from the first floor to the counsellor room. All of them were addicts admitted to the centre at various times. After their arrival, Maheshwari left the place, leaving the group to interact with Sivaraman. When the counsellor returned around 10 minutes later, she encountered a different Sivaraman. He confessed to his addiction and also expressed his willingness to join the centre.
“This is the technique we have been following with newcomers. We should not treat alcoholics like they have been accused of a crime. In my 15 years of experience, I have seen that over 90 per cent of alcoholics behave like children. Drug and liquor addictions are not habits. It is a disease that can be cured. No addict will confess easily that he needs treatment, and when relatives force them to get admitted, they usually get away by yelling at them. But when other alcoholics in our centre share their experiences, 90 per cent of newcomers will join immediately,” she said.
S Mahendran, a differently-abled man of T R Pattinam village, was once on the brink too. At 32, unable to find a suitable bride due to his disability, he turned to alcohol for solace. Unable to watch her son ruin himself physically and financially, Mahendran’s mother took him, albeit unwillingly, to the Gandhiji Integrated Rehabilitation Centre of Addiction. He protested at first, but was soon convinced by Iqbal, a patient of the centre. After 28 days, Mahendran came out a transformed man. Cured of alcoholism, he now runs his own barber shop.
Teen worries
But the centre is also witnessing a worrying trend lately. Teenagers addicted to marijuana are also seeking help. “One 19-year-old boy from Nakkampadi of Nagapattinam had recently been brought here by his mother. Rajan* used to ask money from his mother for buying parottas, his favourite food, but after coming back home, used to immediately lock the room. Also, he used to lie down in the house and watch TV for hours without even blinking his eyes. The suspicious behaviour led to his mother initially believing that her son has been smoking heavily. But it was only later that she identified marijuana as the real source of the addiction.
“When he was brought to the centre, he refused to join even when other patients talked to him. Finally, we asked him to go home and told him to not come back here if he is able to live without marijuana. He came back soon,” says Rajeswari, another counsellor.Not just teenagers, they have also had women addicted to liquor get admitted. “When Rajalakshmi’s* husband left her after developing a relationship with another woman, she took up construction work. Liquor was initially a relief from all the physical pain she endured, but it soon turned into an addiction. As she frequented liquor shops in her area, relatives and neighbours looked down on her. Her son got her admitted here. Though she has recovered mentally, her liver has been affected,” Rajeswari adds.
Central government assistance
Speaking about how the centre functions, R Manivannan, co-ordinator of the centre said, “Our centre is being run by AVVAI village welfare society with the aid from the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. As liquor consumption has increased manifold today, addiction cases too are on the rise and many have lost their lives because of it. It is the reason behind several divorces, illicit relations and illegal activities. Since Karaikal is part of Puducherry UT, liquor is cheap here. So, we decided to start the centre here.”
Many from neighbouring Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts visit the place for getting cured of addiction. “We started functioning in 2007 and the social justice ministry accepted our application and began giving us aid in 2012. Until 2017, we have addressed 200 serious drug addicts, and 180 have been cured completely. Not only during the treatment period, we also monitor them even after they move out of here,” Manivannan says.
“There are over 6,000 liquor outlets in TN and over 500 in Puducherry, but we have just 35 de-addiction centres. Many of these centres have infrastructure issues. While the social justice ministry gives de-addiction centres `8 lakh per year, the State governments don’t contribute at all. Even though we have been wanting to move de-addiction centres from Primary Health Centres to GHs, the government has not supported us.”
When Express contacted the Prohibition and Excise Department of Nagapattinam district, an official said: “In Nagapattinam and Karaikal region, two de-addiction centres are functioning. We have been organising several outreach programs along with NGOs to find persons who are in need of treatment. However, the decision of setting up more centres rests with the government.” (names changed)
15 people die every day in India – or one every 96 minutes – from the effects of drinking alcohol, reveals an study 38 Per capita consumption of alcohol in the country increased 38 percent, from 1.6 litres in 2003-05 to 2.2 litres in 2010-12, according to a WHO report. It also said more than 11 percent of Indians were binge drinkers