The Secretariat seems to be fast turning a favourite ‘suicide threat point’ for many, mostly job aspirants at their wit’s end after remaining jobless for years.
The nerve centre of the State’s administration saw such suicide threats twice in the past three months, with the first being by three rank-holders on the recruitment list for the India Reserve Battalion’s commando wing and then, by one on the list for drivers for the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. While the former selected a high-rise opposite the Secretariat, the latter climbed atop a tree in front of the administrative building.
Both parties were brought down, after several hours, through assurances of talks with authorities concerned. While there is no news yet of their current job status, the police say their attempt to grab the attention of authorities through a suicide bid could have dented whatever chances they had of landing jobs. Once a case is registered for threatening the government with suicide, or the same is flashed across the media, a bio-data or top spot on a rank list will not be the same anymore – something that the political youth organisations which goaded the youths into the extreme step forgot.
For the past few years, especially after the demolition of the old swimming pool of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), for renovation, the swimming enthusiasts in the city were starved of pools or ponds to take a dip in. But now, they are spoilt for choice with three pools in the city. The Konathukulangara pool at PTP Nagar was opened in early 2014 after renovation by the Corporation. A committee of local residents is maintaining it now and the public can make use of it by paying a monthly fee of Rs.50. The KWA swimming pool was also reopened this month, after renovation which stretched for 5 years. But it would not be used for competitions due to the reduced depth. The public surely will not complain, for they would get uninterrupted access to the pool. The Thiruvottukuzhi pond, which had fallen into disuse, was reopened this week. Though smaller in size compared to the other two, it looks like a good place to start the swimming lessons.
(Contribution by Dennis Marcus Mathew,
S.R. Praveen)
