About NA in Bengal Area
Narcotics Anonymous meetings started in Bengal Area locality in 2006 with the first ever meeting held at Midnapore on 10th of August 2006.
The first meeting was a fruit of the urge of some addicts of Midnapore to recover from the horror of addiction with the help & support of one experienced member of another fellowship, & supported thereafter by the service of some NA members of Kolkata Area.
Narcotics Anonymous program worked miraculously after the very first meeting. One after another addicts got attracted by the message of hope & started to come to that meeting & on the very next year, the Second NA Group of Midnapore started it’s meeting. More & more addicts received the message of NA, could reach a meeting & experience the NA way of life. And many addicts became members & started staying clean. New meeting rooms started in various parts of the area one after another. At that time, all groups of this locality were participated in Kolkata Area.
Till 2018, members of the area locality used to get the message through the primary purpose service efforts like H&I, PI, Phoneline etc. by Kolkata Area. Many members of our locality took part in service, & gathered Service experiences by serving at Kolkata Area, becoming involved in all parts of service to NA.
There are a large number of suffering addicts in the districts of our locality. Our experience was that many addicts were missing the NA way due to factors like distance from Kolkata, and lack of focus on local service support. With the purpose to bridge these gaps & carry the message more effectively, many members & the Groups started feeling the necessity of an Area Service for these districts, so that the primary purpose can be fulfilled with a focus on local requirements, & in a concentrated manner. It was also felt necessary to properly involve the new & upcoming Groups in NA service with clear & easier ways.
Finally, on the 27th of January, 2019, 7 Groups ( 2 Groups of Midnapore, 2 Groups of Kharagpur, & 1 group each from Bankura, Bishnupur & Durgapur) decided to form this Area, & named it as “Bengal Area“. It was also decided that now the Geographical coverage of the Area will consist of 6 districts of West Bengal, which are, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura, West Bardhaman & Purulia.
Today NA Bengal has 9 NA groups holding 15 NA meetings every week in Midnapore, Kharagpur, Bankura, Bishnupur, Duragapur, Belda & Tamluk. Efforts are on, to start new groups at places like Jhargram, Panskura etc. In a conservative estimate, a total of 250+ home group members, are attending the meetings of 9 NA groups on a regular basis.
Groups of this locality arranged events like Night Vigils, a campout named as NA Carnival, to bring together members from all over the state & even members from other areas, to celebrate recovery and reiterate to newcomers & all members that – TOGETHER WE CAN STAY CLEAN.
“We are grateful for the NA promise of freedom from active addiction in our lives & want to share our NA way with all who suffer from addiction“