Around 1,000 people including students, medical and paramedical staff, residents from 195 villages took part in a rally and formed a human chain as part of the ‘Suicides Awareness Month programme of the Apollo Hospitals at Aragonda village in Tavanampalle mandal, 25 km from here on Tuesday.
Carrying placards and banners against the suicide, the participants took out the rally from Apollo Hospitals Total Health Division Office to the Bus Stand Circle at Aragonda, where a human chain was formed.
Counselling session
Addressing the gathering Apollo Total Health Managing Director J. Subbanna and Deputy Medical Director S. Rajagopal said the suicidal tendencies among people were growing owing to poverty, strained relationships and chronic health problems. “There is a dire need of creating awareness against the menace by holding as many counseling sessions as possible, if possible at the doorsteps of the vulnerable people,” they said.
Considering the increasing number of suicidal deaths across the globe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared September as the ‘suicides awareness month’.
The health officials have been conducting a series of awareness programmes and counseling sessions. The police, voluntary organisations and major players in healthcare are also doing their best to change the mindset of people suffering from depression by offering them lifestyle alternatives and rehabilitation, they said.
The nodal agencies, rural healthcare providers and social workers can play a crucial role in checking the number of suicide by creating awareness. The speakers further expressed concern that in Tavanampalle mandal alone, about six to seven suicidal deaths were being reported every month.
Viral fevers
The faculty of the Apollo Hospitals sought the gathering to be alert in the wake of the viral fever cases. They said that awareness teams were formed to educate people to fight the mosquitoe menace.