In Dry Bihar, Begusarai Faces Surge of Youth Addiction and Drug Trade
Once famous for its literary, cultural, and artistic richness, this city is now caught in the choking grip of addiction. The easy availability of smack, solution, sedative pills, and injectable drugs is putting the future of youth at severe risk.
What began on city streets has spread deep into neighborhoods and alleyways, pulling even children into its vortex.
The easy reach of addiction
Walk through Lohiyanagar or Station Road, in the late afternoon, and you do not have to look hard. At street corners, in dimly lit tea shops, or crouched in alleys, young boys can be seen passing foil packets, inhaling solution from rags, or sipping cough syrup from plastic cups.
The price?
Just INR 100–200 (about $1.20–2.40). Cheap enough for a schoolchild to buy with pocket money.
What began in city slums has spread across middle-class neighborhoods and into villages on the district’s edge. “This is no longer hidden,” a schoolteacher told me quietly. “We see it in broad daylight.
Children who should be in class are instead wandering the streets, their futures slipping into smoke.”
“This isn’t just a city’s crisis—it’s spreading fast to neighboring villages and small towns,” laments a local schoolteacher. “Students who once excelled have dropped out, seen staggering through lanes, their dreams lost in smoke. Families are left watching, helpless, as bright futures slip away.”
According to data from 2016 to 2024, Bihar has seen nearly a four-fold increase in drug-related cases, rising from 518 cases in 2016 to 2,411 cases in 2024, according to data from the Economic Offences Unit of Bihar Police. Arrests under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act have also surged, from 496 arrests in 2016 to 1,813 in 2024, reflecting the seriousness of the problem.
Chemical drugs such as codeine syrup, sleeping pills, and painkillers show a parallel rise, with bottles seized increasing from 29,861 in 2016 to 1.17 lakh in 2024.
Shattered Families, Ravaged Communities
The rate at which addiction is tearing through Begusarai is unprecedented. Unemployment and negative peer influence, coupled with an uncontrolled supply of illegal substances, have bred a crisis of unimaginable proportions.
In households across the city, mothers weep for sons and daughters who have abandoned school, grown violent and withdrawn, and even risked criminal activities to feed their habits.
One mother, struggling to hide her tears, describes her son: “He was always so sharp in his studies. Now, he spends all his time trying to get money. If we say no, he turns aggressive. We fear one day he’ll be driven to theft, or worse.”
A counselor at a local college points out, “It’s not just about the lost potential of individual youth. When an entire generation falls, the consequences are catastrophic for the whole society. These are the same young people who should have been shaping the future of our community.”
The Medical Toll: Living and Dying on the Edge
The physical and psychological consequences are just as severe. Dr. Raman Kumar, a leading specialist in substance abuse at the district hospital, explains: “What is popularly called smack is actually a low-grade form of heroin containing about 20–25% heroin content.
Even small doses can have devastating effects—weakening the body, damaging mental health, and, in many cases, causing death.” The appeal of chemical highs is not limited to smack alone; codeine syrups, solvents, inhalants, and over-the-counter painkillers are all abused with alarming frequency. Medical experts from Patna Medical College and IGIMS report treating over 200 patients monthly for addiction-related disorders. Addiction to heroin, brown sugar, cannabis, and inhalants leads to serious health consequences, including mental illness, physical deterioration, and increased risk of infections due to needle use.
“The real danger of codeine syrup,” Dr. Kumar adds, “one bottle equals almost 200 ml of alcohol, but there is no smell, so families don’t realise until the addiction is advanced. It is insidious because it hides in plain sight.”
He further warns that youth are turning to chemical substances at an accelerating pace, and that addiction rapidly undermines both the physical and mental balance of users. “Addicts lose interest in family, work, and ambition. Instead, they chase the next high, sometimes with tragic consequences.”
Why Begusarai? Why Now?
Experts see a painful cycle: unemployment leaves youth idle; peer pressure introduces drugs; weak law enforcement lets dealers operate openly; and cultural decay erodes traditional safeguards—replacing hope with despair.
Community activists stress that the problem is not isolated. “This is now the city’s central issue,” says one organizer. “If you save the youth, you save the city. If not, we are looking at a lost generation.”
Can the Tide Be Reversed?
The Bihar government has already launched the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, aiming to raise awareness in schools and colleges and expand de-addiction and rehabilitation facilities across districts. Social welfare authorities emphasize coordinated community action and stronger law enforcement against drug suppliers to stem the crisis. But curbing the crisis requires a multi-pronged effort: stronger law enforcement against traffickers, community education on the dangers of drug abuse, affordable rehabilitation for addicts, and more opportunities for youth to engage in meaningful work. Local social workers and NGOs are urging collective action, calling on families, schools, and concerned citizens to intervene before addiction claims more lives.
Dr. Kumar, echoing a sentiment felt citywide, sums up: “Addiction doesn’t just consume the body. It devours dreams—the potential for brilliance, for new leaders, for hope itself. We all have a stake in breaking this chain.”
The fog of addiction may be suffocating Begusarai today, but its legacy of resilience and community spirit offers grounds for hope. The battle requires renewed resolve—from law enforcement, from educators, parents, and, crucially, from the youth themselves. Only with united effort can Begusarai rise again from the haze of chemicals to reclaim its true place—its culture and hope for tomorrow.
