Over Rs 35 crore has been spent in the past five years in the battle against drugs but there is not even any reliable data on the number of addicts in Bengal.

Non-governmental organisations say Calcutta alone has over a lakh of addicts. The number is increasing by four to five per cent a year, said Mohammed Belal, the project director of Drive for United Victory over Addiction.

“People getting out of addiction are few, which indicates that the battle against drugs has remained a non-starter,” he added.

On the eve of the International Day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, Metro looks at the work of three government agencies.

Health dept

Responsibility: Detoxify and rehabilitate addicts.

Means: In 1990, the department set up the Institute of Psychiatry at SSKM Hospital as the nodal centre.

Reality: The nodal centre has only six beds to treat addicts, whereas over 50 turn up at the outdoor patients’ department every day.

“Even a few years ago, we had a full-fledged laboratory where we would conduct tests on the addicts who were admitted here to find out which substance they were using or how much they had consumed. But the lab was scrapped and the space was given to another department,” said a senior official.

The posts of superintendent, two deputy superintendents and a resident medical officer have been lying vacant for years. Of the 54 sanctioned Group D employees, only 21 are on the rolls now.

“There is only one counsellor, where there should be more than five,” the official said.

The institute receives almost Rs 50 lakh from the central government every year but most of the money goes back because the institute fails to come up with projects.

Official response: Prof Malati Ghosh, who heads the hospital’s psychiatry department, admitted to the infrastructure gaps. “We need more beds and staff to tackle drug addiction successfully,” Ghosh said.

Police

Responsibility: Choke chains of supply.

Means: A full-fledged department called the Narcotics Cell.

Reality: The helpline for drug addicts started four years ago has not been working for one year. Substances like brown sugar, marijuana and cannabis are sold openly. Sealdah is not only one of the biggest transit points for narcotics, but also a haven for drug peddling. The narcotics cell has failed to curb peddling outside central Calcutta schools.

Official response: “Most of the drug peddlers in the city are small sellers. Under the law, anybody caught with a small amount of drugs gets instant bail,” said Jawed Shamim, the deputy commissioner of the detective department.

Social welfare

Responsibility: The department runs detox and rehabilitation centres through over 10 NGOs.

Reality: “They (the department) have not called meetings of the NGOs in years. Reports submitted by the NGOs lie with it for months. The funds distributed through the department take a lot of time to reach the NGOs,” said the spokesperson for an NGO.

Official response: “We are in constant touch with the NGOs,” said Kanta Prasad Sinha, the director of the department.