‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ Campaign has been started by Kota Police in an attempt to curb the alarming increase in the number of student suicides in the district. Know more about this new campaign..
New Delhi: In the past few days, incidents of student suicides in various colleges have been reported including the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi). The coaching hub of Kota is now taking a step to curb the alarming increase in suicide rate among students in the district. Kota Police has now begun a new campaign, known as the ‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ Campaign. It will be carried out with the help of the wardens, mess workers and tiffin providers of Kota who have been given the task to keep an eye on students who are living in hostels and PGs and are battling with tension or stress. What is the ‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ Campaign, why is it special and how will it help, read further to find out..
What Is The ‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ Campaign?
As mentioned earlier, Kota Police has started a new campaign to reduce the number of student suicides in the district and it is called the ‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ Campaign. The wardens have been encouraged to participate in this effort of the Kota Police; mess workers and tiffin providers have been urged to report immediately if a student has not had his meal or tiffins are left unconsumed.
Chandrasheel Thakur, ASP, Kota was quoted by PTI as saying, “We have launched a campaign called ‘Darwaze Pe Dastak’ where we are encouraging wardens to make it a routine to knock on each students’ door at around 11 pm, ask them if they are okay, notice their activities, and keep a vigil just to ensure that there are no signs of stress, depression or abnormal activity. After coaching, the students spend maximum time in hostel, and hence wardens should be the first ones to notice the signs.”
Objective Of The Campaign Launched By Kota Police
Chandrasheel Thakur has also added, “The idea is to detect these early signs. If any student is repetitively missing classes or skipping meals, there has to be something. We want to identify these children and get them counselled before they get pushed to the brim. We have launched a dedicated number on which wardens, mess workers and tiffin providers can give us this information.”
Alarming Increase In Student Suicides
In 2023, 22 students have lost their lives to suicide so far while the number of suicides in 2022 in Kota was 15. In the past week or so, quite a few cases of suicide have been reported- on August 27, two NEET aspirants died in just a span of few hours; a student of IIT Delhi also committed suicide recently by hanging himself in the Vindhyachal Hostel of the institute.