‘Solution’ a big problem for Chikhli’s most marginalised
| Date :04-Nov-2022 |
By Yogesh Sharma
Though aware that addiction is a bane, many are enslaved by it because of the temporary ‘relief’ that it offers. That it eventually weakens a person physically, mentally, sociologically, soon spreading its tentacles in the entire society, is a truth lost on an addicted person. To the very marginalised, who know little but pangs of hunger and dire need to overcome it, addiction provides a ‘solution’. This is the dreadful but true story of those living in the huts and shanties on roadside of Chikhli. To beat hunger, they consume a ‘solution’, which though poisonous, helps them forget their own bleak reality.
Nobody really knows from where these people hail, though they themselves claim to be from Katni in Madhya Pradesh, living in Buldana district for some 8-10 years. But in absence of any proper record, this could not be verified. Eking out a living through begging, these people first took to addiction of the ‘solution’ to kill hunger. However, soon it took over their entire life. Not just adults, children are also addicted to it.
A woman, living in one of these huts, said that their children return home late in the night when others are already asleep. They do not ask for food or any thing else and leave well before daybreak. She confessed that children, as small as just two years, have been introduced to the ‘solution’ after which neither do they feel hunger, nor cold.
A young girl admitted that the addiction of the solution has now become a real problem as without consuming it the addict feels restless. The growing addiction of this sort is dangerous not just for these people but for entire society. Many of these child addicts can be seen in the streets of Chikhli. Though a cheap solution for their problems, this
‘solution’ is ruining their entire life.
The ‘solution’ is poisonous and if consumed in a little greater amount it may also cause death. “Among the glue used in shoe making, one is of the industrial type and another a regular one. These glue contains gases that are poisonous. I have heard it for the first time that people are using this for intoxication. It is dangerous,” said Dr Santosh Saoji, noted physician, adding that this is a very serious matter and needs urgent attention.
Nandkumar Palve, Co-Founder of Sevasankalp Pratishthan, Palkhed Sapkal, described it as a collective failure of society. “To the society the addiction of this people is visible, but the tragic circumstances that led to these people consuming solution must also be taken into account. This holds a mirror to the society. If after so many years of independence some of our people are still living is such dire straits, then it is, indeed, our collective failure,” he said.
When contacted, Chikhli MC Chief Officer Aakash Suradkar said, “though presently there is no scheme of Urban Development Department under which these people can be accommodated, we will inform senior officials of the department at the earliest, so that something can be done for them,” he assured.