The series of student suicides in the coaching hub of Kota has shocked the entire country. Police, coaching centres and hostels are working together to find preventive measures for this problem. The police are involving wardens, mess workers and tiffin service providers to look for any signs of depression or stress among the students staying in hostels and PG accommodations.
The police have named this campaign as ‘Darwaze pe dastak” campaign, and they are constantly encouraging wardens, mess workers and tiffin service providers to participate in this campaign. Police also asked them to report if a student is repetitively absent from the mess, is skipping meals or if someone’s tiffin is found unconsumed.
Kota ASP Chandrasheel Thakur said, “We have launched a campaign called ‘Darwaze pe dastak’ where we are encouraging wardens to make it a routine to knock on each student’s door at around 11 pm, ask them if they are okay, notice their activities, and keep a vigil just to ensure that there are no signs of stress, depression or abnormal activity. After coaching, the students spend maximum time in hostels, and hence wardens should be the first ones to notice the signs.”
The district administration recently directed the coaching institutions to stop conducting routine tests for students preparing for JEE, NEET and other competitive exams for the next two months amid the latest suicides.
In a desperate move to prevent these suicides, the authorities had recently ordered hostels to install a spring device on ceiling fans to stop students from taking their lives. Some hostels are using nets on balconies and corridors to prevent students from jumping off the building.
