Drive to break suicide trend begins

Following back-to-back suicides of college students in Odisha, the police have launched awareness programmes in various educational institutions in the northern and western regions of the coastal state.

- PNN & AGENCIES

‘The Higher Education department is also set to begin a campaign in all colleges and universities across the state to tackle the increasing suicide rates among young people.

Four women, three of them college students, died allegedly by suicide in the state in the past four weeks.

“Creating awareness among the students, particularly women, is also our responsibility. We launched awareness campaigns across colleges in Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Jharsuguda and Sonepur districts,” IG (Northern Range) Himanshu Lal said.

Lal said that the awareness campaign includes real life stories, expert guidance from psychologists, and information on helplines and counselling services available to students.