Waiting to be Found: Young Drug Users in Manipur

A A new report on young drug users in Manipur called “Children at Risk: Lost in the Haze,” has been released by the Childline India Foundation and the Social Awareness Service Organization (SASO) in Imphal. The report, based on research conducted among 220 children aged under 18 from Imphal East, Imphal West, Churachandpur, Bishnupur, Chandel, Thoubal and Ukhrul, revealed significant levels of drug use. But drug users who are not yet 18 are not able to access services from treatment clinics and drug-related service providers as the majority of these services are aimed at adult male drug users. According to Childline’s Dr Abhishek Lakhtakia, the release of the study marked the start of a realization that these issues were not receiving enough attention from programmers and policy makers. “This is the first step towards drawing attention to the needs of children. We hope that the findings will lead to discussions and translate into steps for advocacy to have existing laws around children be more inclusive of their special needs,” Dr Lakhtakia said during a dissemination workshop. Many young people are not confident talking about their drug use and Archana Oinam, who took part in the study, said she spoke to one young boy who wanted to stop using drugs but could not ask for help. “He went to an NGO that was providing services related to drug use on a couple of occasions but went back without seeking any treatment options each time saying that he was not confident of talking about his situation to people he knew and those who were older,” Mongjam said. About the study: 220 young people from five districts in Manipur took part in the study, which was conducted from November 2007 to March 2008. 182 had tried to stop using drugs. Only 57 sought service-related help through their own personal contacts and NGOs. 63% of the children who took part had used Spasmo Proxyvone during the last month of the study. 57 (or 25.9%) had used heroin with 40 injecting the drug during the last month of the survey. 93 of the children said they sourced drugs from their peers, 85 bought drugs directly from dealers, 22 went to chemists and 20 bought drugs from common stores.

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Bagan Striker Lalawmpuia Admitted to Rehab

Kolkata, Feb 18 : A promising football player from Mizoram and a I-league regular PC Lalawmpuia of Mohun Bagan Club has been admitted to a rehabilitation clinic for addiction to alcohol. Club Secretary Anjan Mitra today said that the striker was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in the southern suburb of the city last night for treatment of addiction to alcohol. Mitra said, “We have admitted him so that this promising players does not go astray and can get rid of his addiction.” Puia was arrested early morning on Saturday for drunken driving and riding a motorcycle without a helmet. He failed the alcohol test at the police station and was later released on bail. Bagan did not allow him to practice the next day and did not field him against Mohammedan Sporting on Sunday. Mitra said, “Puia is a member of the Mohun Bagan family. He is young and very promising. Even after Saturdays arrest we did not suspend him or issue a show cause notice. At the same time we felt he should get cured of his addiction. So we decided to admit him to a rehabilitation centre.”

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US to boost troops in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama has authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan, saying they are to "meet urgent security needs". Two brigades - one army and one marine - are to be sent, Mr Obama said in a statement released by the White House. This first major troop deployment under Mr Obama comes as his administration reviews US policy in Afghanistan. He has vowed to focus US military efforts on fighting the Taleban in Afghanistan, rather than on Iraq. The additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan had originally been scheduled to go to Iraq. "The fact that we are going to responsibly drawdown our forces in Iraq allows us the flexibility to increase our presence in Afghanistan," Mr Obama said. A senior White House official was quoted by Reuters as saying that a decision on cutting US troop levels in Iraq would be taken within "weeks". During his election campaign Mr Obama promised to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months after becoming president. 'Strategic attention' The additional troops are to be sent before warmer weather brings an expected increase in fighting in Afghanistan, US defence officials said.

The deployment will be made up of 8,000 marines, and 4,000 army soldiers, plus another 5,000 support staff. They will serve in the south of Afghanistan, where the violence has been worst. "The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with approximately 8,000 marines will deploy to Afghanistan in late spring 2009," said a statement from the Pentagon. "The 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Ft Lewis, Washington, will deploy approximately 4,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in mid-summer 2009. "Approximately 5,000 additional troops to support these combat forces will receive deployment orders at a later date," the statement went on. The US already has about 14,000 troops serving with a Nato-led mission. There are also 19,000 US troops under sole US command charged with fighting Taleban and al-Qaeda insurgents. US commanders in Afghanistan have requested 30,000 additional troops. 'Extraordinary strain' The increase "is necessary to stabilise a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan," Mr Obama said. "The Taleban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe-haven along the Pakistani border," he said. Afghanistan, he said, "has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires". "I recognise the extraordinary strain that this deployment places on our troops and military families," the president said. The announcement came after the UN said that the number of civilians killed in the conflict in Afghanistan rose by 39% last year. Militants were to blame for 55% of the 2,118 civilian deaths, while US, Nato and Afghan forces were responsible for 39%, according to the UN report - the highest number since the Taleban were ousted in 2001.

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Interim Budget Neglected Northeast India: Tripura Govt

Agartala, Feb 18 : Terming the interim budget of the central government a ‘poll lollipop’, the Left Front government in Tripura Tuesday said it largely neglected the northeastern region. The budget is ‘a political agenda ahead of the general elections and no programme to deal with the crucial economic issues of the northeastern region in view of the slowdown’, Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury told reporters. ‘For the first time in many years, no additional allocation was made in the interim budget for the backward northeastern region,’ he said. The minister added that the central government neglected the region because the Congress party ‘might have no chance to win any Lok Sabha seat from the northeast’. Chowdhury, also a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee, blamed the United Progressive Alliance government for not allocating adequate funds for the public distribution system, creation of jobs and for enhancing people’s income. ‘The budget is simply a poll lollipop. It’s an election oriented budget without any realistic basics of economy and after the general elections people would face a dangerous economic situation,’ he said.

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