A child addict near Fancy Bazar. Picture by UB Photos

Aug. 5: A majority of street children here are involved in substance abuse, but the city is yet to have a de-addiction programme or a centre where they can be provided medical assistance as well as counselling to kick the life-threatening habit.

There has been an alarming rise in incidence of substance abuse among streetchildren, particularly those found roaming on railway platforms.

There are three de-addiction centres for those hooked to drugs and alcohol here but there is none where these children can be taken for rehabilitation.

Some NGOs are counselling and motivating these children to abandon substance abuse, mostly in the form of sniffing Dendrite.

“We receive four to five streetchildren at our night shelter home daily. These children reside on the pavements and also on the platforms in Guwahati station. One can easily notice a few of them huddling together and sniffing Dendrite. While in the shelter homes we try to motivate them to shun drug addiction, round-the-clock monitoring along with medical help is required for these children. Though there are de-addiction centres for adults, there is none for the kids,” director of Snehalaya, a shelter home for children, Fr Lukose Cheruvalel, said.

Child addicts can in no way be kept with their adult counterparts in rehabilitation homes for varied reasons.

“Although all addicts need special care and medical help to be able to give up addiction, child addicts need extra care because they are young and can be misled. Moreover, these children cannot be kept with the adult addicts as there is always a possibility of their being physically assaulted by the older addicts in a fit of rage under the influence of intoxicants. Hence, a de-addiction centre is the need of the hour here,” Fr Lukose said.

“Over the years more and more street children are getting hooked to harmful substances. Seeing the alarming trend, we definitely need de-addiction centres for addicted children here. A child-friendly environment has to prevail in rehabilitation centres for children. If they are kept with adult addicts, there is every possibility of the kids having a negative influence and getting to know more about different intoxicants and how they can be procured,” said Deepak Sahni, project director at Kripa Foundation, a de-addiction centre in the city.

“If this happens they will not even hesitate to commit petty crimes to procure money required to buy these substances. There is also immense possibility of their being physically and sexually abused by the adult addicts,” Sahni said.

“Our plan to start a separate de-addiction centre for children has not materialised as we have failed to find a place till date. Most people do not want to rent their house to be used for sheltering street children. We have now approached the state government for land to set up a centre,” Sahni said.

Officials of the state social welfare department were unavailable for comment.