EXTRA COVER: A policeman keeps vigil on Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna. Telegraph picture

Patna, Sept. 27: In a bid to put brakes on the trend of committing suicide jumping off the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, police are planning to put metallic net along its railings.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Alok Kumar said the spurt in suicides jumping off the bridge is a cause of concern for the men in uniform. So, the police are toying with the idea of laying net, making suicide bids impossible.

The officer said: “Preventing suicides on the bridge is a very difficult task for the police. The bridge is pretty long. Though policemen keep an eye on suspicious people on the bridge, it is nearly impossible to stop suicide.”

The SSP said: “The only way to put a check on the incidents of suicide is setting up metallic nets on the either side of the bridge. If the nets are laid, people would not be able to climb up the railings and take a plunge into the Ganga.”

Kumar said: “In places like New Delhi, several bridges have such nets. They make suicide bids an impossible affair. The same can be done here too.”

Though the proposal of laying net along the 5.575-km-long Mahatma Gandhi Setu is at discussion-level in the police department, the officials of the National Highway Division under the state road construction department are quite upbeat about it. They said the proposal would be given a serious thought and could be forwarded to the Union ministry of surface transport for its execution.