CHENNAI : As the world gears up for Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, many in Chennai seem to have collapsed under stress or failure in exams and succumbed to the urge to take their own lives.

Activists and the police said that more people resorted to suicide when the going got tough.

According to volunteers of Sneha, a helpline working in the area, the figures collected from the police show a thousand more people taking their own lives in 2005 compared to the previous year. "It was 1196 in 2004, but it has jumped to 2275 in 2005," says founder-director P.V. Sankaranarayanan.

The figures collected from various police stations also indicate that highest number of cases was reported from Ambattur (378) and St. Thomas Mount (366) areas. "Officials say at least one case is reported every day from these areas," he says.

Other areas that had the 200 plus figures are: Adyar: 242, T. Nagar: 210 and Pulianthope: 201.

Out of the total number of suicides reported by the police, `failure in exams' accounted for 54 deaths. "Though a decision to commit suicide is arrived at as a result of various factors, exam-related stress seems to have triggered more suicides in 2005. There seems to be a sudden jump," says Mr. Sankaranarayanan bringing out the figures reported in previous years. Officials and activists are yet to ascertain whether the `jump' is due to more cases being reported to the police, as it is still too early to arrive at a detailed picture.

"We will go ahead with more stress management and emotional well being programmes, particularly in areas where high levels of suicides were reported," said Mr. Sankaranarayanan.

Special programmes would be conducted for educational institutions, he added. Other activities include a workshop for media personnel on September 9 and distribution of pamphlets the next day.

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