Number of IDUs on the rise in Tripura

The number of Injecting Drug Users (IDU) is on the rise in Tripura in spite of efforts by the state AIDS control society to control the menace, officials said. The Injecting Drug Users are mostly concentrated in Kanchanpur and Damchera in North Tripura district and Dhalai district, the officials said.

According to the latest statistic available with Tripura State Aids Control Society (TSACS), the number of drug users has gone up from 750 in 2018-19 to around 1000 till date. The figure was 610 in 2017-18.

But the exact number of IDUs would more than the official figure as drug users often avoid the health workers due to social stigma, the Project Director of TSACS Dr PK Majumder said on Friday. "We have succeeded to get some die-hard IDUs out of drugs through Opioid Substitute Therapy (OST) but the actual number would be much more than the official inputs," he said.

As many as 215 Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) have been fully cured over the past few years because of OST, he added. Dr Majumder said "The number of IDUs are spreading to new areas like Kanchancherra, Sikaribari and Ambassa city in Dhalai district over the years. Earlier, the menace was concentrated only in Kanchanpur subdivision because of an open border with Mizoram." He said "We are using OSTs at Kanchanpur and Manu to give proper treatment to the drug users but turn-out is not so encouraging. But, still, we are working on the mission to rescue the IDUs."