Mehran Bhat
I was deeply in love with a girl from my school days. We were in a relationship for 6 years, both happy and committed. But one day, I received her call just to hear “I have a boyfriend and we can’t be together anymore.” It was a devastating news that the love of my life wasn’t mine anymore.
The news became a turning point of my life, when a sober boy, obedient to his parents turned into a shame for his family. It was back in 2012 when I started taking drugs just to erase her memories from my mind. I got involved in drugs to such an extent that I was thrown out of my home, often. I would also, often, cut my arms and fight with my family members.
In a new phase of my life, when I had started taking the drugs, smoking 10-12 Marijuana cigarettes a day was a new normal for me. Gradually, I got involved in other drugs like Synthetic Resin, Heroin, and many more. I used to roam around the streets of Srinagar to get Marijuana and other stuff.
Initially, I used to have a good amount of money that my parents would give me. But, when they discovered that I am involved in drugs, they stopped giving me money. I struggled a lot to get drugs, and eventually, a sincere boy turned into a thief. I started stealing money from my brother’s wallet to get drugs for myself.
Aamir (19, name withheld), was now known as “Charsi” in his locality. I had become a disgrace for my family and friends and was living a solitary life. My family lost their dignity because of me. My sisters weren’t able to move out of the home, as every time they would move out they had to hear “Yemny Chu Boye Charsi.”
One day, my body turned pale and foam started erupting out of my mouth. My brother took me to a nearby hospital, immediately. The doctor, on seeing my condition, advised my brother to get me drugs immediately and said that I could die, otherwise. My brother felt ashamed and asked the doctor to let me die. “He is a disgrace to us,” he said. He, then, called someone to take me away and get me drugs.
This incident created a huge impression on my mind and I decided to give up drugs. I had devastated my life, brought disgrace to my family, and lost a huge sum of money (more than 2 Lakhs).
One Friday, when I went for the Jumma Congregational prayers, I heard a sermon about the punishments of those involved in drugs and fornication on the day of Judgement Day and I made a firm decision to get myself treated. And fortunately, after continuous treatment for 5 months and prayers of my family, I was finally able to get myself out of drugs and live a life with dignity.
This thing only causes destruction and disgrace. I pray that nobody ever gets involved in this and that everyone lives a life of dignity.
As per the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau, 2020, 1222 cases were registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act -1985 here in Jammu Kashmir. According to NCRB data, out of the 1222 cases registered in J&K, 289 were lodged for possession of drugs for personal use/ consumption and 933 for drug trafficking.
Recently, Vijay Kumar, the IGP for Kashmir Zone, while speaking on the sidelines of a sports event at Indoor Sports Hall, Polo Ground Srinagar, said that police have prepared a blue-print to eradicate the drug menace from the society. He also said that they would go with heavy hands against those involved in the drug trade.