Jeevan concerned about rising suicide trend in Jamshepur, 243 cases till Nov ‘21

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Dec 22: There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides in Jamshedpur due to multiple factors, the main among them being the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in lockdown that sprouted mental disorders like anxiety, stress, fear of the future, depression and other associated syndromes.

Expressing concern over the disconcerting rise in the suicide graph,  the Founder-Director of the suicide prevention centre, Jeevan, Dr Mahavir Ram informed, “The trend of rising number of suicide cases in and around Jamshedpur is indeed very disconcerting. 258 suicide cases were recorded in 2020 during the corona epidemic. By November 2021, this number has reached 243. We, at Jeevan have been tirelessly trying to alleviate mental misery through reaching out to people and their families to eradicate the fear of the unknown. We are being continuously supported by other like-minded organizations. Till November this year, the suicide count had touched 243.”

Jeevan was able to reduce the number of suicides from 200 in 2010 to 170 by the year 2019. The number of suicides would have increased to 254 in 2019 according to the population ratio, so hypothetically 84 suicides were prevented.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, Dr Mahavir Ram mentioned that the office has readily available forms that can be availed of free of cost from the office. The forms are related to friends or family members contemplating suicide and how best these can be prevented.

Dr Ram said, “Preventive measures are detailed in the formats that highlight measures for overcoming suicidal thoughts. How family members and friends can help in realigning the mental getup of people with suicidal tendencies and other related details are mentioned in the forms. Any person who wants to save the life of a loved one, can collect the forms free of cost from our Jeevan office at Q Road in Bistupur.”

Durga Rao of Jeevan said that the primary responsibility of making continuous efforts to stop this growing trend and prevent suicide was on every citizen. “Jeevan expects cooperation from every citizen to fulfill its responsibility, so that maximum number of people can be saved. If you are suffering from any kind of mental disorder and harbor suicidal thoughts, then contact Jeevan at 25, Q Road, Bistupur or helpline number 9297777499/9297777500 from 10 am to 6 pm for free emotional support.”