Nearly a lakh people commit suicide in India every year, about 10,000 in Tamil Nadu and 1,000 in Chennai alone, according to official statistics available.
More than 2,000 students commit suicide because of failure in examinations and the most vulnerable age group for suicides are 15 to 29 in females and 30 to 45 in men, according to P V Sankara Narayanan, Director of Sneha, an
NGO in Chennai which offers uncondtioinal support and understanding to those who face such crises.
He said Kerala topped the list in number of suicides, where for every one lakh population 26 people committed suicide.
Karnataka, Tamil nadu and West Bengal followed in order, where the number of suicides ranged from 20 to 26 per
per lakh of population.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir reported less number of suicidal deaths, where it ranged between six and seven per lakh of population, Shankara Narayan said.
Started in April 1986 by a well-known psychiatrist, Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, Sneha offers emotional support to people who are depressed, dejected or feeling suicidal and the prime aim of the organisation was to prevent such suicides.
Nearly 1.50 lakh people have utilised the services of Sneha in the past 19 years through phone-calls, visits or letters and nearly 60 per cent of these people were prevented from committing suicides, he said.
"In stress-filled modern life, people feel the acute need to talk to someone who would really understand and empathise with them," Shankara Narayan said.
Often for various reasons, one may not be willing to discuss these personal problems and anxieties with friends and
relatives. In Sneha, these people are listened to with care, warmth, understanding and unconditional acceptance, he added.
Forty men and women volunteers of Sneha are available at most of the times on all days of the year to address the
grievances of those prone to suicide and strict confidentiality is maintained, he said.
"They need not reveal their names or identify themselves. They can open up their minds so that we can help them," Shankara Narayan said.
The future plans of Sneha, according to him, would include voluntary and free service to people 24 hours a day and E-mail service besides creating cent percent awareness to preventing suicides.
Sneha is planning to work round the clock during exam results times from May 25 to June 10.
