Distress calls at one of the privately-run suicide helplines in Hyderabad have doubled over the past few months.
“Every year, there is a spike in the number of calls but this year, we have fielded more. After the Central Board of Secondary Education declared Class X results, we got a large number of calls from students in the north,” says Malathi Raj, director of Roshni, a suicide helpline in the city. “We used to get 12 or 13 calls a day, but now we are getting 25-30 on a daily basis,” she says.
Over the past few months, over 20 students across the State, distressed over results, ended their lives.
Telangana, however, doesn’t have a toll-free suicide helpline. In the absence of one, students often turn to police emergency number 100.
“We keep getting calls from those with suicidal thoughts on a regular basis. We talk to them, take their details and pass those on to the nearest police station where they follow up with the caller,” says an official who supervises the police emergency helpline number 100.
‘Toll-free number needed’
“Recently, when we conducted a camp at a school, students said a helpline for counselling should be free as many depressed people may not be able to afford to pay to talk. A toll-free helpline would be a big step towards improving the suicide counselling services,” says Ms. Raj.
There, however, is a toll-free helpline for farmers. Not surprisingly, a number of farmers in distress call up the number and share suicidal thoughts. “We counsel them. We have a psychologist who speaks to them. Then we call them back after a few days to enquire about their well being,” says Vandana, who mans the helpline.
A health crisis
According to the World Health Organisation, India is one of the few countries where suicide prevention is part of mental health plans. But suicide remains a massive health crisis in the country. Statistics for suicide, available for 2015, reveal that 6.7% students ended their lives. Among children under 18, 14% ended their life due to failure in examination.
Decriminalisation of suicide in 2017 was a major step in removing the stigma. But this has not translated into reaching out to the vulnerable. An online search throws up a number of an NGO in Mumbai. It also throws up horror stories about how unhelpful some of the helplines are.
