24x7 suicide prevention helpline launched: Mumbai resident glad her efforts paid off

For 22-year-old Mumbai resident Raashi Thakran the launch of India’s first 24/7 suicide helpline KIRAN is like a personal victory. The Union social justice and empowerment

For 22-year-old Mumbai resident Raashi Thakran the launch of India’s first 24/7 suicide helpline KIRAN is like a personal victory. The Union social justice and empowerment ministry launched the helpline — 1800-599-0019 — earlier this week.

HT Image

In January 2019, Thakran lost her 18-year-old brother who died by suicide. Since then, she left no stones unturned to initiate a centralised 24/7 helpline number for suicide prevention.

“When my brother died, out of curiosity, I called around 20 suicide prevention helpline numbers but only three responded. All these helplines are run by NGOs and none of the function round the clock. This left me thinking what if my brother had called one of them and didn’t get help on time,” Thakran said on the eve of Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.

To highlight the issue, last year in June, Thakran, who currently works in Bengaluru, started a petition on Change.org addressing the Union health ministry which gathered almost two lakh signs within two months. She also met some government officials who showed interest in launching a centralised helpline or revamp an already established one.

However, as Covid-19 hit India, her efforts got stalled.

In June, after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide at his Bandra residency, her petition gained momentum again, garnering more than four lakh signatures.

“It is saddening that despite having over one lakh suicides every year in India, authorities and public needed an actor to die to value the importance of mental health. More importantly, this country didn’t even have a government helpline number,” she added.

India reported about 381 suicides daily in 2019, marking a nearly 3.4% increase as compared to 2018, a report by the National Crime Records Bureau stated. Maharashtra recorded the highest number of deaths by suicides.

City-based psychiatrists welcomed the launch of the national suicide prevention helpline. “This is a major step towards suicide prevention in the country. But it is saddening that India didn’t have a national helpline for so long. What is even more disturbing is the fact that the authorities had to wait for a virus to hit or an actor to die,” said Dr Sagar Mundada, city psychiatrist.

Dr Milan Balakrishnan, secretary of Mumbai chapter of Indian Psychiatric Society and consultant psychiatrist at Bombay Hospital, said, “People suffering from any mental illness often shy away from consulting psychiatrists. But often, they prefer talking to people on the phone through these helplines. It may not help to cure a depressed patient completely, but it is the first step.”

He added, “There is need for similar helplines especially at night when patients are free and often feel lonely and want to talk to someone about their thoughts.”

Thakran, who has called the recently-launched helpline a couple of times to check its responsiveness, said, “My brother can finally rest in peace.”