Srinagar, Jan. 22 -- Kashmir's struggle with drugs is not a passing crisis; it is a generational wound, and the healing is only beginning. The real picture is layered: a valley once drowning in despair now pulses with the rhythm of follow-up visits, each one a fragile but powerful step toward recovery. These centres are not just medical facilities; they are lifelines, places where anguished parents cling to hope, where young men and women wrestle with their pasts, and where society itself is learning to confront its shadows.

The sheer scale of follow-ups; tens of thousands in a single year; tells us something profound. It tells us that relapse is not the end, that returning for therapy is itself an act of courage. It tells us that the yo...