17-year-old turns to rehab centre to escape drug addiction

A 17-year-old youth from a village in Nawanshahr visited the Red Cross Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts (IRCA) today, seeking help to break free from drug addiction.

According to officials at the centre, the youth has been addicted to drugs since he was in Class X. He revealed that he initially fell into bad company, which led him down the path of substance abuse. “I took every kind of drug I should never have touched. I want to quit, but it’s getting harder every day. When I take chitta (heroin), I feel calm and start liking everyone. But without it, I feel desperate and start demanding money from my parents — I even abuse and hit them,” he confessed.

The youth's father, a driver, recently returned from abroad a year ago, while his sister is also living overseas. “I too wanted to go abroad and earn, but now I am stuck in this mud,” the boy said with regret.

His mother, visibly distressed, shared her fears about her son’s violent behaviour. “I don’t know how to control him anymore,” she said.

Chaman Singh, Project Director of the Red Cross IRCA in Nawanshahr, said the centre is committed to helping the youth. “We have advised them to go to the Civil Hospital. The psychiatrist will guide them there,” he said.

The case highlights the growing menace of drug abuse among the youth, especially in rural areas, and the urgent need for both community awareness and strong rehabilitation support systems.

For the last 12 years, 70-year-old Chaman Singh, Project Director, Red Cross Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts, has been spreading awareness among people, especially the youth, regarding drug abuse.

The centre has been fighting drug abuse in its own way. Singh has dealt with over 3,500 inmates until now. “I know how they should be treated and how much love they need,” he had earlier told The Tribune.