Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Celebrating life the best way to prevent suicide

CHENNAI: If anything, the crowds at the Marina behind the Gandhi statue were an indication of the vibrancy of life. Celebrating life is affirming it and probably the best way to create awareness on suicide prevention.

Several hundreds of people gathered on Sunday morning to participate in the walkathon organised by Sneha as part of Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on September 10. “The idea is to de-stigmatise suicidal behaviour and to assure people that it is possible to prevent suicide,” Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder, Sneha, said.

The non-governmental organisation, with the support of volunteers, has been running a suicide prevention helpline round-the-clock in Chennai for the last 24 years, she added.

The helpline has received over 1.5 lakh calls, about 20-30 calls every day. Statistics paint a grim picture. Every year, 1.10 lakh people commit suicide in India, Dr. Vijayakumar said. This amounts to a suicide every five minutes.

Sneha has committed to the World Health Organisation to work on de-criminalising suicide and reduce pesticide suicides in rural India this year. The walk was flagged off by industrialist Nalli Kuppuswamy.

Art director Thotta Tharani judged a painting competition organised on the themes of suicide prevention and every life counts.

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