'Darwaaze pe Dastak' campaign to put a stop to spate of student suicides in Kota

While the wardens are being encouraged to participate actively in the "Darwaze pe Dastak" campaign, the mess workers and tiffin service providers have been asked to report if a student is repetitively absent from the mess and skipping meals or when someone's tiffin is found unconsumed.

Kota (Rajasthan): With the number of student suicides in the coaching hub in Kota hitting an all-time high, the police have now roped in hostel wardens, mess workers and tiffin service providers to help detect early signs of depression among students living in hostels.

While the wardens are being encouraged to participate actively in the "Darwaze pe Dastak" campaign, the mess workers and tiffin service providers have been asked to report if a student is repetitively absent from the mess and skipping meals or when someone's tiffin is found unconsumed.

"The student who goes to the mess to eat the food, we talk to the employees of the mess to know if any student is not coming in the hostel mess or not eating food. We ask the tiffin service if they have seen tiffins lying unattended. We expect the wardens and the students to have a good rapport with each other and we want the students to communicate well with the warden. It is better that the warden should communicate with the parents and once a day they should talk to the kids. We expect the warden to knock at every student's door and they should talk to the kids if they are feeling good or not," said ASP Kota Chandrasheel Thakur.

Since the students spend a large part of their day in hostels when they are not attending coaching classes, the police feel keeping a vigil on them is the best way to nip their problems in the bud before they are pushed into taking an extreme step.

"We take night attendance of the students who come from coaching to make sure there is a friendly environment for the students so that they don't feel home sick. We keep a check on the students if they are feeling good or not whom they are talking to. We also provide medical facilities to the kids and if there is something major, we take them to the hospital," said Gajender Soni, a hostel warden.

Psychologists warn it is important to understand the signs early on. That's why the wardens and mess workers are being asked to take such signs seriously and inform the police so professional counselling can be arranged for such students.

"I keep a check on the students when they are going to coaching centres and coming back. I make sure to keep a check on the students if they are eating or not, coming for breakfast or for lunch. If the child is unwell I call upon the doctor and try to sort out things in the hostel room itself," said Garima Sharma, another hotel warden.

Over 2.5 lakh students move annually to Kota, which is known as the country’s coaching hub, to prepare for medical and engineering entrance exams NEET and JEE. The year 2023 has seen the highest number of student suicides -- 22 so far -- with two ending their lives in a gap of a few hours on August 27. Last year, the figure was 15. (PTI)