KOCHI: Sixteen-year-old Soumya (name changed) reached Mukthi Sadan de-addiction centre in Njalikkara near Angamaly along with her mother. She was addicted to all kinds of drugs, especially new-generation drugs, and needed treatment. Unlike the four other inmates, her condition was critical and needed more care, remembers Fr Joseph Parecattil, director of the centre.
“Soumya comes from a broken family. Her mother got separated from her first husband after having an affair with another man. That man’s wife and two sons also left him. So, the mother started living with him and her two children -- a daughter and a son. Soumya was born in her mother’s second relationship. After Soumya’s birth, they also got separated and her mother started living with another man, whom Soumya hated,” Fr Joseph said.
He added that most of the inmates who reached the centre are coming from broken families. Soumya’s elder stepsister was married off and her stepbrother was lured into a drug dealers’ network by locals near their house in a slum in Alappuzha. According to her, it was her brother who first introduced her to drugs and used her for trafficking small quantities of drugs in packets.
“Soumya often used to fight with her mother’s new partner, and following such a spat, the government officials intervened, and she was given to her maternal grandmother’s custody. Sometimes, her mother used to visit her and she brought the girl to the centre after realising that Soumya was addicted and needed treatment,” Fr Joseph said.
He says that she is very talented and grasps everything they teach at the centre. “She dropped studies in class seven. Now we teach her English grammar and she can understand the language very well. She is also good at drawing and craft. Soumya has recovered 50 per cent from the addiction, but needs more attention and care,” he said.
The director said the frequent visits by her mother had been upsetting her mental stability and they complained to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Officials from the police’s juvenile wing and the CWC visited the centre and recorded her statements. Soumya is now under the custodianship of the state. The deaddiction centre informed the authorities that soon after her mother’s visit, she insisted on going back and dropping out of the treatment. “She once told us that she used to get Rs 500 for handing over just one packet of drugs and that helped her earn better. The access for immediate money is luring even children to this trade,” he said.
FIRST DE-ADDICTION CENTRE FOR WOMEN
Mukthi Sadan now has five inmates including a mother and daughter, who are addicted to alcohol and ganja. Others are aged 30 to 55. One of them was discharged after treatment. The centre, the first in the state for women, started functioning in April. Mukthi Sadan is part of Nirmal Nikethan Mukthi Sadan de-addiction centre for men, functioning for nearly 32 years in Pukkattupady. The women’s centre will be funded by the state government in the initial year and, then, will be taken care of by the Union government. Females aged more than 10 years are admitted here. Those addicted to drinking, smoking, drugs and mobile phones are treated here. An inmate can be housed here for treatment for 30 to 90 days. The centre is concentrating more on counselling and, every week, they have arranged the service of a psychiatrist.