The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Srinagar, has revealed that 1,560 patients visited the centre in the year 2023 in a Srinagar hospital while the findings revealed a staggering estimate of over 14.09 lakh people, aged between 10 and 75, using various psychoactive substances in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the multidimensional factors contributing to the drug menace and mental disorder in the occupied Kashmir include deployment of huge Indian forces, atrocities, political uncertainty, unemployment, unfulfilled aspirations, parental expectations, poverty and corruption.
The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) said that 1560 patients visited the centre in the year 2023, compared to 3395 in 2022.
Last year, 1,909 patients were from Srinagar district only while the rest came from other districts of the valley. However, in 2023, only 728 such patients from the Srinagar city visited the centre for treatment.
“The Out Patient Department (OPD) at IMHANS in Srinagar has seen a significant drop in visitors seeking assistance in the current year as compared with last year. Over 1500 new patients visited OPD and among them 330 addicts were admitted in the hospital,” an official from the de-addiction center said.—KMS
