Every year, more than eight lakh people commit suicide and up to 25 times as many make an attempt to commit suicide. According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) Report-2015, Puducherry topped the suicide rate in the country. In UT, at least 15 youth between the ages of 15 and 25 commit suicide every month. The records show the reason for more than 55% of the deaths is not known.
Against the backdrop, on the day of World Suicide Prevention Day – 2017 on Sunday, volunteers of Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL) took out a cycle rally to create awareness, emphasise the importance of suicide prevention and reach out to people who need help.
The rally jointly organised by Puducherry Youth Helpline, a unit of Trust for Youth and Child Leadership, Puducherry Police and Puducherry Health Mission, covered 100 villages in 10 hours. Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi flagged off the rally from Raj Nivas.
“The small Union Territory of Puducherry has the highest rate of suicide. The reason for more than 55% of the suicide-related deaths in Puducherry is not known. We have sought the victims’ profile to analyse the reason. We are still waiting to get the profiles. Only if we understand the reason for the suicides, is intervention possible,” said Suresh Krishna, Administrator, TYCL.
He added that the rally was held to spread information about Puducherry Youth Helpline. “The Trust for Youth and Child Leadership also lists five steps to prevent suicide: they check in with people who are struggling, encourage to tell them their stories in their own way and at their own pace, listen to them without judging, offer gentle support and make a difference in their lives.”
Lack of resources
Mr. Krishna added that they could afford to have only one person at the Puducherry Youth Helpline.
“We need more people but the resources are very little.”
The cycle rally covered two municipalities and five communes of Puducherry — Ariyankuppam, Bahour, Netapakkam, Mannadipet and Sedarapet.
S. Venkatasamy, Superintendent of Police (East) and Dr. Jawahar, Manager, National Health Mission were also present.
The volunteers also distributed the helpline posters to young people in the village and collected their signatures.
