The mission: Weaning them away from liquor

hubli: the changing social etiquette, deep-as-gorge depression, inability to come to terms with the shifting family equations, that yearning to be different and swimming against the tide. all these and many other reasons have been pushing some people to the brink of alcoholism. according to a conservative estimate, the orthodox twin-cities of hubli-dharwad account for at least 5,000 chronic alcoholics who find it difficult to lead life in the absence of that intoxicating bottle.sri maitri de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in shaktinagar of hubli has been trying to wean them away from the killer liquor. the centre has so far treated 224 alcoholics. if there is a steep increase in the number of people on alcohol in the twin-cities, a part of the blame should be apportioned by kamripet bootleggers who don't flinch a peg before palming off illicit liquor to the customers. it is estimated that of the total liquor business in hubli and dharwad, a whopping 75 per cent of the ``red liquor'' traces its origin to kamripet. maitri's medical officer prakash c. madalgeri said: ``harder the liquor, greater the possibility of addiction.'' no wonder the blame has been laid at the doors of kamripet. the quality of liquor, or the lack of it, is as strong and potent a reason as familial, social and economic factors which drive people into the abyss of alcoholism. and the result? sample this: nineteen-year-old anand of hubli hit the bottle as his interests were not in sync with those of the family. not dissimilar is the case of a 57-year-old doctor. and some women who could not set themselves free find ethereal liberation from quotidian existence in the groggy drinks. one such victim is an 18-year-old girl from bidnal. defining addiction, jayashree budihalmath, project director and chief psychologist at maitri, says: ``all those who consume alcohol do not become addicts. addiction is complete psychological and physical dependency on liquor.'' she said the north-west karnataka road transport corporation (nwkrtc), hubli-dharwad municipal corporation (hdmc) and the railways have referred some chronic cases to maitri. coupled with the misconception that alcoholism is an ``incurable illness'', is the ignorance about the existence of de-addiction centre in dharwad district. the maitri de-addiction centre is a union government-sponsored organisation, offering free treatment. jayashree admitted that there is no such thing as ``complete recovery'' from the problem but 95 per cent of those who received treatment at the centre are on the path of recovery. how is de-addiction done? it is a three-pronged strategy: detoxification, counselling and rehabilitation. jayashree is of the opinion that meditation plays an important role during the rehabilitation programme. prakash madalgeri said the centre has evolved a treatment package which includes setting right the physical disorders due to huge consumption of liquor. he said medical experts would be called in case the patient needs a special treatment (if the person is suffering from liver ailments, cardiac problem or diabetes) before subjecting him to detoxification. jayashree regretted that there is not much awareness about the concept of de-addiction. for this, maitri has started awareness camps in rural areas and also has plans to conduct them in urban localities.