April 27, 2006

Driving down the road leading to Beach Avenue one night, a friend entered a service lane and found himself facing a half-naked mentally challenged person. There was no way to pass him and the driver had to brake the vehicle from hitting him. The person suddenly started yelling and started hitting the bonnet of the car with his hands and then bent down to pick something to hit it. The driver made a quick escape.

This is not a stray incident in this area or for that matter in most areas of the city. Imagine if the person was not in a car or if it was a couple or a family out for a stroll. The consequences are unimaginable.

In the same area, another incident took place sometime later and residents were startled to see a totally deranged woman running stark naked on the street. In all parts of the metropolis, the mentally disturbed and drug addicted are roaming freely causing great concern amongst the residents.

There does not seem to be an answer to this problem. According to a practicing psychiatrist in Islamabad, Dr Aftab Khan, mental illnesses are widespread in Pakistan, with some 20 per cent of the population affected by depression, drug abuse, personality disorders and obsessive compulsive disorders. To deal with this situation there are only 350 psychiatrists in the entire country and four mental hospitals with a total capacity of 2090 beds. Most of the mental hospitals have been established by the British, the only one added since partition is at Dudhial, Manshera. This reflects the lack of importance given to this sector by the successive governments in Pakistan.

The existing mental hospitals are also overburdened because in some cases mentally sane patients are admitted to these hospitals by influential relatives who want to keep them confined for personal reasons. Few if any are ever released from this illegal confinement.

Getting professional help for a mentally disturbed person is out of reach of the common man, hence instead of receiving professional medical assistance in a clean and hygienic environment, the patient ends up chained to a tree or lamp post covered with mud and going hungry for days on end. Some of them escape and end up on the roads causing frightful scenes and posing great danger to the ordinary public.

A substantially large number of mentally deranged individuals reach this stage due to drug addictions. In 2004 there were approximately 3.5 to four million drug addicts in the country, since then there has been a seven per cent increase each year. The most alarming thing is that some 71.5 per cent of the total drug abusers are under 35 years of age with the highest proportion being those aged between 26-30. This is a colossal national loss especially at a time when the planners claim that the economy is growing which obviously requires young people to operate and manage it for further growth.

Somebody needs to take a good hard look at this alarming situation because our streets, already full with street crimes, are now also threatened by drug addicts and mentally deranged persons on the loose. This also explains why the residential quarters, once bustling with joggers and families taking a stroll, are now deserted and the parks where this activity has shifted are full to capacity.

The general attitude is that this problem will just resolve itself. No one pays attention to it and this issue, along with other problems affecting the society, has also become victim to the apathy of people and the government.

This is a much greater problem and needs serious attention before it gets out of hand and every street is overflowing with drug addicts and mental patients. It should be ensured that people feel safe on streets, while those who need help are given proper medical treatment. On both counts steps must be taken seriously and quickly to resolve this problem.

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