580 suicide cases reported in district last year

Mysuru:  Marking World Suicide Prevention Day, an awareness rally was organised by the District Administration, Zilla Panchayat, District Health Office and District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) in city this morning.

About 200 NSS volunteers and staff of Health Department participated in the rally carrying placards with meaningful messages to prevent suicide. The rally was flagged off by District Vector-Borne Diseases Control Officer Dr. Chidambara at the District Health Office in Nazarbad which passed through SP Office Circle and Gopala Gowda Hospital Circle before culminating at the starting point.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Chidambara opined that suicide was not the solution for a problem. He bemoaned that many people committed suicide for trivial reasons and advised youth not to fall prey for suicide instinct.

Brochures highlighting the theme of International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)  ‘Working together to prevent suicide’ were distributed among people. The brochure stated that about 8 lakh people commit suicide every year across the world and 17 percent of them were from India. According to Police sources, 580 cases of suicides were reported in the district during last year. DMHP officer Dr.M.S. Manju Prasad, Psychiatrist Dr.Narendra, District Family Planning Officer Dr. Siraj, CPC Polytechnic NSS Officers Naveen, Madhusudhan, Doddayya and others were present.