Childhood lost in dandy addiction

It was around 10:30am on Sunday.

A ten-year-old kid was seen standing in front of the Jahir Raihan Cultural Complex in Sutrapur, clutching a worn-out polythene bag in his hands.

When the correspondent asked what was in his hand, the boy casually replied, "I am having Dandy."

"I feel better when I have this, it takes my hunger away. I do not have any family, I live alone," the boy added.

He says that he collects dandy from two primary sources -- hardware shops and shoemakers.

" I frequently visit various hardware shops in the Sutrapur vicinity, and buy a small pot of glue for Tk 70 to Tk 80, although its actual price is Tk 60," he said.

"A single glue pot can be sniffed three times for three to four hours each time," he said.

Glue-sniffing has emerged as a prevalent and alarming practice among street children.

Commonly referred to as "dandy," the adhesive glue used by shoe repairers contains toluene, a sweet-smelling and intoxicating hydrocarbon. Abandoned by family and looked down upon by society, these children, mainly aged between 10-16, usually consume dandy to satisfy their hunger and get temporary relief from harsh realities of their life.

Upon information from Arman, these correspondents visited a number of hardware shop owners in the Sutrapur about the sale of these glue pots.

"We do not sell dandies to street children. Because we know they are addicted," Ismail, a salesman at Mukti Traders, one of the hardware shops in the area, told this newspaper.

However, Russell (pseudonym), a salesman at Khaja Traders, admitted, "When our owner isn't around, we sell glue pots to street children for some extra income."

"Not only us, but other shops also do the same," he added.

Contacted, Rashed Hasan, the manager of Khaja Traders, said, "I will investigate it, and whoever sells dandy to street children will be punished," he added.

According to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), a total of 47 children have taken treatment from the indoor department of the government rehabilitation center in 2016, which rose to 608 by 2021. It was 74 in 2017, 80 in 2018, 109 in 2019, and 496 in 2020, shows the DNC database.

Manjurul Islam, deputy director of DNC, told The Daily Star that most of these children are dandy-addicted and mostly stay on the streets.

"We have increased the monitoring and vigilance in the last couple of years, so the children are now taking assistance from the rehab center to get rid of the problem," he said.

Asked about the unregulated sale of the glue, Manjurul said "We have already brought the manufacturers and wholesalers under licensing."

However, it is not possible to bring the retailers, shoemakers, and rickshaw repair shops under licensing, he explained.

"We have increased our awareness in these sectors so that these glues are not sold to children," he added.

During a visit to the capital's Old Dhaka, these correspondents found some more children  sniffing dandies sitting in the shade of Banglabazar foot bridge. Their eyes reflect a haunting emptiness instead of being filled with curiosity

"I do not have any family. I live alone in this big city. Dandy is all I have," one of them said.

According to Dr Sifat E Sayeed, a child mental health specialist at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, the widespread availability and affordability of the drug make it easily accessible to street children, enabling them to easily obtain and share it amongst themselves.

"It serves as a gateway to more severe addictive drugs," she added.

She explains that the drug poses a dual threat to the human body, causing two distinct forms of damage.

"Firstly, it leads to inflammation or wounds on the nasal tract lining, and secondly, it contains carcinogenic elements, making it highly harmful to health," she said.