Kulgam couple sold Rs 1 crore assets to feed drug addiction

Kulgam, Aug 3: A few weeks ago, a couple from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district showed up at an Addiction Treatment Facility (ATF) for treatment.

The couple revealed that it had squandered nearly Rs 1 crore on drugs before deciding to give up on narcotics and seek treatment.

According to reports, the couple sold their household goods including ornaments to finance their daily dose of drugs.

Room No 113, which houses the ATF at District Hospital (DH) Kulgam, hardly an hour and a half hour drive from Srinagar, is littered with such stories.

Ishrat Mohiuddin, a rehabilitation psychologist who works as a counsellor at the facility told Greater Kashmir that almost every substance abuser wastes huge sums of money on drugs before seeking treatment.

“I usually see patients who have spent between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh on drugs,” she said.

Drug addiction is increasingly affecting the couples where the two sell their property to procure drugs.

She said that they had seen cases in the recent past where they found couples using the hardest drugs like heroin.

“Even there are the cases where almost entire families are involved in drug abuse,” she said.

Experts say that it is usually the male partner who initially succumbs to substance abuse, which eventually affects both partners.

“It begins with male partners and later involves the female partners,” said an expert, who declined to be quoted by his name.

He said that the district was caught in the crosshairs of the hardest drugs with addicts consuming heroin and other injectable drugs.

Since its inception in November 2021, ATF Kulgam has received a total of 1962 patients.

“They include both male and female, but the majority are male,” said Ishrat.

She said that the female patients had inhibitions about visiting the facility.

According to the counsellor, patients who seek medical help are usually those who have the support of their families.

“Besides medical help, the community support could play a crucial role to keep the menace off the society,” she said.