Kota district administration, Hope Society, Indian Medical Association (IMA), and Indian Academy of Paediatrics, with other experts on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, Tuesday, September 10, discussed ways to prevent suicidal tendencies in young people, especially in students preparing for competitive examinations, as stated in a report by PTI.
The discussion, titled 'I am also a guardian', was held at the Sadgun Auditorium of Allen Career Institute in Landmark City, Kota.
The president of Hope Society, a seasoned psychiatrist who has spent over a decade working on suicide prevention in Kota, Dr. ML Agarwal, expressed concerns about the city's reputation being tarnished due to the suicide issue.
"Every suicide is tragic, but Kota is being excessively defamed for it, which is wrong," Dr Agarwal said.
He claimed the number of suicides in Kota and Rajasthan is much lower compared to the rest of the country.
"Giving prominence to news on suicide can also incite suicides," he added.
According to Allen Career Institute principal psychologist Dr Harish Sharma, "We need to be vigilant and understand the behavior of students and their parents."
Dr Govind Maheshwari, the institute's director, pointed out that there had not been much discussion on this subject in the past. He stated that constant connection with students is necessary to change this.
Dr Himanshu Sharma, who works in the field of suicide prevention, discussed the several steps being taken to prevent suicidal thoughts in students in collaboration with the district administration, coaching institutes, and other stakeholders.
Dr Sharma listed a few of the measures, including keeping tabs on students' attendance, seeing how they behave in class, and organising different awareness campaigns at the dorm mess.
More than two lakh students from all across the nation travel to Kota each year to prepare for entrance exams for medical and engineering schools.
There are over 4,500 hostels and 45,000 paid guest rooms in the city, and the money that students spend on food, stationery, and transportation helps the local economy tremendously.
Nonetheless, the city's economy has suffered as a result of the rising incidence of student suicides.
In the Kota coaching hotspot, 14 students have died by suicide since January of this year, compared to 26 suicide incidents that were reported in the city in 2023.
Kota is ranked 34th in the nation for suicide cases and 18th for suicides caused by fear of failing examinations, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 report.
Rajasthan is now ranked 10th in the nation for the number of student suicides.
