Jamshedpur, Nov. 27: The number of suicides in the steel city rising steeply, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Jeevan, an NGO, have developed a two-pronged strategy to talk people out of depression and stress.
According to the plan, the organisation will set the ball rolling by identifying individuals, who have already made suicide attempts in the past. The members will also organise talks in educational institutions to help young minds cope with stress and sky-high expectation.
This apart, Jeevan will also establish a counselling centre at Maharashtra Hitkari Mandal in Bistupur.
Former IMA president Arun Kumar, who has to his name the credit of conducting the first extensive research on the rise of suicides in the city, said: “It will not be wrong if we say that Jamshedpur has become a suicide hub in the country where people take their lives on flimsy pretexts. In fact, the number of suicides in the city was less than 100 before 2000. But it touched the 400-mark in 2005. I expect that this year the figure will go up further,” Kumar said.
The doctor cited the instance of a newly-wed couple at Kadma, who consumed poison in about six months into their marriage in April for not being “happy” with it. Harish Lal Gupta died, while wife Pinki is struggling for life at Tata Main Hospital.
“A couple attempting suicide in less than a year’s time shows how people leading secluded life from their family and society are stressed out. Had they discussed the marital problem with their parents or friends, the end might not have been so unfortunate,” Kumar added.
Asked about the triggers behind suicides, Kumar said: “Expectation beyond one’s capabilities and peer pressure to perform are the most common. Self-centred lifestyle also plays an important role in forcing people to end their lives.”
Donning the hat of a nodal person to meet the school managements and organise talks in educational institutions, Kumar has already started research on stress faced by the students.
“Students comprise a huge group of people between 14-35 years, who are vulnerable to suicide. The talks will train students to manage stress and cope with expectation, but we shall not mention the word suicide,” Kumar further said.
Mahabir Ram, the founder-president of Jeevan, echoes Kumar’s words.
“The national data collected by our organisation has shown that Jamshedpur has even more suicides than Calcutta despite the steel city’s population being about one-tenth of the population of Calcutta,” he said.
The members of IMA and Jeevan will also start identifying suicide-attempt survivors. “We will counsel them and also try to ascertain the symptoms that will help us detect suicide inclinations,” Kumar said.
