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World Suicide Prevention Day: Mahasamund launches social audit on suicides

RAIPUR: Concerned over the increasing number of suicides, Mahasamund administration has initiated a social audit of suicide cases reported in the district. Mahasamund reported the highest number of suicides last year.


In 2017, 273 people committed suicides and the number rose to 298 in the following year.

From January to July 31, this year, 202 people have already killed themselves. To mark World Suicide Prevention Day , on September 10, Mahasamund collector Sunil Kumar Jain said, "We started the audit in July this year ... After about 12 months, we will analyse the data to ascertain the reasons."

In Chhattisgarh 's suicide district, an 'audit' to save lives

Concerned by the high rate of suicides in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district , the administration has started a "social audit" of all suicides in the district to identify the triggers and save lives.

Mahasamund reports the highest number of suicides in the state, and the number has risen alarmingly over the years. In 2017, as many as 273 people committed suicide, and the number rose to 298 the following year. This year, there have already been 202 suicides (July 31) - and the spike alarmed the administration. With a population of about 10 lakh, it made for a suicide rate of nearly 30 per lakh population.

Chhattisgarh is among the top five states in the country in suicides. Against a national average of 10.6 suicides per 1 lakh population, Chhattisgarh has a shocking 27.7 per 100,000, says data of National Crime Records Bureau of 2015. Mahasamund tops this. All hopes now rest on data analysis to end these suicides.

On the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day, Mahasamund collector Sunil Kumar Jain said, "We initiated the audit in July this year and have developed a format for it. The elders in villages conduct the survey and send it to us. After about a year, we will analyse the data and ascertain the reasons behind suicides''

What's intriguing is that suicide victims are from diverse social and economic profiles, and span a wide age spectrum, Jain said. "Mahasamund is not economically backward, either. So, when I joined as collector in December last year, it was difficult to understand why so many people were killing themselves. Every day, I would read about two or three suicides in newspapers. So, I decided to do something to prevent it,'' Jain said.

The collector has launched several initiatives to tackle the problem. At the forefront of this mission, is project 'Navjeevan' of the Mahasamund administration, supervised by the collector. "Stress is a leading cause of self-harm. We have launched campaigns in towns and villages to create awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. We are coaching people to handle stress," Jain said.

In addition to stress management, the administration imparts life-skill training, facilitates free consultation by experts and sensitises media on how to report suicides. Families are guided to identify people with mental disorders. Under Navjeevan, counsellors - called 'Sakha, Sakhi' (friends) and 'Preraks' (guides) - are trained to identify people with suicidal tendencies and help the families. Doctors, trained at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, have been assigned to the suicide-prevention mission. By now, each village has at least three persons - including a teacher - trained to handle potential suicide victims. Each village in Mahasamund has one Navjeevan Kendra, situated mostly in the community centre. "The biggest challenge has been to convince people that mental disturbance can trigger suicide. They are afraid of the stigma. But once they accept, most of them volunteer to join the campaign," said Jain, adding: "We have just begun. Results would take two to three years to show." The next step is to open a toll-free helpline .

On September 10, which is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day, gram sabhas will be held across the district to talk about mental health and suicide prevention. This is to ensure that people realise the seriousness of the issue, said an official.

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