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Thavaseelan K, sitting 4th from left, along with others after inuagurating the OST centre at Chenmoho village, Mon[/caption]
Dimapur, Sep. 24 (EMN): With the aim to reduce the use of opium and drug addiction in the area, the local community under the initiative of Joint Acton Committee Against Opium Addiction has established an Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) centre at Chenmoho village in Mon district.
The centre was launched by Mon’s Deputy Commissioner, Thavaseelan K on Sep. 22.
A DIPR news update on Monday stated that the OST programme for opium users was first started at Manyakshu in 2015 with the support of the department of Health and Family Welfare. The same programme at Chenmoho village is also supported by the health department and Development of Underdeveloped Areas under the Border Area Development Programme.
Quite alarmingly, the DIPR stated that 8-9% of about 3000 Chenmoho village’s adult population are into this substance abuse. Adults ranging from 18-45 years, who also form the working population of the community, constitute the maximum number of abusers.
The newly opened OST centre will provide Buprenorphine drug as a substitute for opium to the opium addicts to mitigate their withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine as a substitute for opium was started at Tobu under the initiative of the same committee, the DIPR stated.
While launching the OST centre at Chenmoho village, the Mon deputy commissioner thanked the local MLA and others for the support rendered, and the initiative taken towards the cause. Out of over 300 users of opium in the village, 134 users have registered voluntarily at the centre. While appealing to others to follow suit, he called on the local community to pressurise the other addicts to join the programme and be registered. Informing that Buprenorphine tablet is expensive, he called on the department of Health and Family Welfare and DUDA to continue supporting the initiative. He also congratulated those who enrolled at the camp and encouraged them to continue to motivate themselves as self-motivation is the most important ingredient of the programme.
Earlier, the convener of the Joint Acton Committee Against Opium Addiction, W Moba Konyak in the introductory note, encouraged the users registered at the camp to make life’s decision during the treatment. There should be change in lifestyle with the use of the therapy, he said. Maintaining that opium is readily available in the area from neighbouring Myanmar, he called on toughening the checking by the community to stop the import of the same.
Since the area came into contact with opium some decades back, opium addiction continues to be a menace in parts of Mon district, specially the areas bordering Myanmar. “Many community-based programmes and initiatives have been undertaken, however the problem continues,” the DIPR quoted a concerned local citizen.
