Suicide menace: Adityapur toll bridge in Jamshedpur to get iron fencing

Jamshedpur, Feb 3: In view of rising cases of suicides by jumping, Adityapur toll bridge over Kharkai river connecting Adityapur Industrial area in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district to Kadma locality in the steel city will too get iron fencing soon.

East Singhbhum district administration has taken an initiative for fencing the either side of toll bridge similar to the Jai Prakash Narayan Setu in Mango so as to prevent incidents of suicide there.

The deputy commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla has asked departmental officials to work in this regard.”We are planning to install iron fencing on either side of the Adityapur bridge.  We are thinking to fence the toll bridge because it is increasingly turning into a suicidal point. Once the bridge is fenced like Jai Prakash Narayan Setu over Subernarekha in Mango,” said Shukla.

The deputy commissioner pointed out that he would hold a meeting over the issue soon and would instruct the civic body Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) for installing the iron net or fence like it has been fixed at the Jai Prakash  Narayan Setu .

Two youths committed suicide by jumping down the Adityapur toll bridge during in January.  While one of the deceased was a resident of Burmamines locality about 7- Kms away from the toll bridge in Kadma, another deceased, a 17-year-old boy, was a resident of Bagbera locality about five kms away

On an average two incidents of attempted suicide take place at the bridge every month.  Though in most of the cases, such people are saved by the fishermen and boatmen from getting drowning, after the jump in the rocky river-bed some of them sustained serious injuries on being hit on the rocks below the bridge.

City-based Dr. U K Srivastava said that limiting the availability of one method of committing suicide is reported to reduce the overall suicide rate. Suicide and injury suicide preventive measures should be considered. A study also demonstrates that bridges attract suicide candidates.

Welcoming the move, Mahabir Ram an official of Jeevan, a city based suicide prevention centre said: ” The situation was becoming serious. We had requested the administration to provide safety nets on the bridges. Once the sides of the bridge are covered with nets, the people will not be able to come to the bridge for committing suicide by jumping into the river�.