Ahmedabad: Drug and alcohol addiction plagues Ramdev Nagar nomadic settlement

Under a campaign led by Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch (VSSM), an NGO for the welfare of nomadic tribes, more than 100 women have vowed to protect their kids from the menace of alcohol and marijuana.

“At least 50% of families in Ramdev Nagar settlement are addicted to either alcohol or marijuana. The level of addiction in the nomadic tribes at Ramdev Nagar is such that if one person in the family starts dr0inking, then others also join him, and soon the alcohol addiction passes on to the third generation of the family,” Mittal Patel, founder, VSSM said. “Children as young as 9-10 years are getting addicted to alcohol. Marijuana is also extremely popular among youngsters, so much so that if a student hires a rickshaw in Ramdev Nagar, the driver will himself ask if they need any ganja.”

A total of 4,500 families reside in Ramdev Nagar, of which around 1,000 are nomadic.

The women of the locality spoke of the ordeal of handling alcohol addiction in their homes.

“My husband and my two sons are alcohol addicts,” Lakshmi Ben Bawari said. “My son, who is married and has a three-year-old son, returned home one day in a drunken state, and in his desperate search for more alcohol, drank a bottle of similar-coloured acid kept in the bathroom. We took him to the hospital but doctors couldn’t save him as his internal organs were all burned. Now, I am scared that my other son and husband will meet the same fate.”

Residents say that alcohol and marijuana are supplied to the settlement from outside.

“Every morning from 4.30 am to 6 am, a truck arrives near the settlement and supplies drugs and alcohol in our area. They are brought from the outskirts in Ahmedabad and it is common knowledge,” Anil Rathod, another resident of Ramdev Nagar, said.

Social activists say that the path to de-addiction is a long one but a joint initiative of the residents, civil society and police could succeed. “We provide lodging for the addicts at our centre. A loan amount is given if someone intends to get into rehabilitation centres,” VSSM’s Patel said. “But alcohol and drugs are being supplied with impunity even though the police station of Satellite area is located hardly 100 metres from the settlement.”

When asked about what the police have been doing to curb the menace of drug and alcohol use, Inspector of Satellite police station MB Zala said, “We had requested the NGO to put up a campaign against drug abuse and alcohol for the residents, as these people are scared of the police. We keep on conducting raids in the settlement but its entry point is such that even if a single person sees a cop, the alert is sent to the entire settlement and the accused manage to flee. But we have been making arrests every now and then.”