Amritsar: Families play vital role in addiction recovery, say former drug addicts

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, July 4

The family plays a vital role in helping a patient shun drug abuse. This was stated by Gurpartap Singh Pannu, a recovering addict and now a motivational speaker.

Belonging to the family of former Punjab Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon, he got hooked to drugs when he was in Class IX. Bowing to pressure from his seniors, he started consuming drugs and once his situation worsened.

Gurpartap was sharing his experience with hundreds of school students participating in the interactive seminar, “Youth Against Drugs”, organised by the city police in collaboration with FICCI FLO at Art Gallery here on Thursday.

“My life was a living hell for 13 years due to drugs and because of me, my mother also passed through this hell,” said an emotional Gurpartap. My mother ran a school for three decades and not a single student failed during this period. I was the first student to fail, he said. He said his mother started avoiding parents of the students and even teachers as she could not face questions regarding my condition.

However, he said this acted as a deterrent and helped him shun drugs. Now it has been nearly 14 years since he said goodbye to drugs. He said drug addicts should understand and treat it as a disease, which is curable. Though the family wanted him to move to Canada, he decided to stay here in Punjab and work for people like him to bring them out of the quagmire of drug abuse.

Similarly, Goldy Kashyap, another former addict, said he had never thought that he would get a new lease of life. After suffering for nearly 12 years, his family and even employees at his shop started avoiding him.

He is now associated with an NGO, “Narcotic Anonymous”, involved in counselling of drug addicts and help them in weaning them away from drugs. He urged the youth to say no to drugs.

While speaking on the occasion, Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon informed the students about the perils of drug addiction and how it physically and mentally destroys an addict.

He said no challenge is bigger once every section of society decides to face it and takes appropriate measures to eradicate it. He said being a border district, they face the challenge of smuggling of drugs from people living across the International Border and who wanted to destroy the youth of the country. He said the police along with the district administration would take measures to rehabilitate the victims.

Mona Singh, vice-chairperson of FICCI FLO, said the seminar aimed to educate and empower the youth, besides providing them with knowledge and tools to stand against drugs. It laid emphasis on the significance of community involvement, preventive measures and the support systems necessary to foster a drug-free environment. Discussion was not only enlightening but also offered practical solutions to this social problem.

Meanwhile, the seminar brought together a panel of distinguished experts who shared their insights and strategies to check this critical issue. It was moderated by Dr Amrita Rana, chief consultant radiologist and director of Rana Diagnostics. Besides, Rupan Oberoi, associate professor and head

of the department of psychology, GNDU, Amritsar, and Dr Nishtha Gupta Arneja, chief consultant psychiatrist, Devaki Neuropsychiatry Hospital, were also part of the seminar. They discussed the psychiatric aspects of addiction and the critical role of mental health professionals in the rehabilitation process. They stressed the need for a holistic approach to tackle it.

The seminar gave a unanimous call to action, encouraging everyone to contribute to creating a brighter and drug-free future for Punjab.