Down To A Needle

A single syringe used among a group of confidants is leading to a multitude of problems for the youth in Tripura.

- Shilajit Kar Bhowmik

For some youngsters in Tripura, the dream of making something of oneself has been replaced by a desire to escape reality, while for others, what started out as an occasional hit has started to become a deadly daily habit. The rise in the demand and use of drugs among the youth is a worrying sign, even more so when it is pushing up the numbers of HIV/AIDS victims in the State.

Drugs are being peddled from Myanmar to Tripura’s Damchhera via Mizoram’s Mamit district. And so, it is not surprising that Damchhera has become a hotbed of drug smuggling. Subsequently, they are apportioned across various parts of Tripura where they are sold to youngsters. As a result, many teenagers in Agartala, Khumlung, Jirania, Ambassa and other belts have become Injected Drug Users (IDU). The use of injectable drugs have also led to the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS among the youth.

It should be noted that drug injection does not necessarily cause HIV/AIDS on its own. It is the usage of a single syringe amidst umpteen numbers of persons that leads to infection and diseases. In addition to that, blood donation by individuals with HIV or intimate relations with the diagnosed have also added to the number of HIV positive individuals. Presently, 87 IDUs have been diagnosed as HIV positive across various parts of the State.

The Cure

According to the National AIDS Control Organisation which serves under the Union Health Ministry, the number of drug users using injections in Tripura is going up. And a continuation of this trend will ultimately lead to an increase in the number of HIV victims across the nation, if steps are not taken to curb the menace.