Kota hostels come up with suicide-proof fans to curb rate of students committing suicide
KOTA: In an attempt to bring down the suicide rate in Kota, which has earned itself the moniker ‘suicide city’ due to the high number of students killing themselves there, the Kota Hostel Association has come up with the idea of a suicide-proof fan.
The ceiling fan is the tool favoured by the hapless students to hang themselves in the hostels in this city, which is considered the go-to place for anyone seeking coaching for competitive exams in the country.
"The association has decided to make it mandatory for every student hostel registered with the association to attach a spring equipment and siren sensor to the ceiling fans of the hostel rooms," Naveen Mittal, president of Kota Hostel Association said. The spring equipment attached to the ceiling fan is capable of bearing a weight of not more than 20 kg and will come down with the expansion of the spring if anyone heavier than 20 kg tries to hang from the fan, he said.
The sensor will also start blaring out, alerting authorities. A firm from Gujarat has been given an order for the supply of the spring equipment and sensor and the process to attach the equipment and sensor is underway in some of the hostels. The process is expected to be over in two to three months, said Manish Jain, founder president of the Association. Besides, biometric attendance machines would also be installed for daily attendance at all the hostels in Kota and the same would be made accessible to parents, hostel warden and officials of the Association through mobile texts. Biometric machines have been installed in 80 to 90 hostels in Land Mark area of the city. Around 500 to 550 hostels are currently registered with the association, he said.
Apart from these, CCTV cameras would be installed at the entrance and exit roads, points and gates in areas where the coaching institutes and hostels are located, Jain said. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in its 2014 report said at least 45 students committed suicide in Kota due to fear of failure in exams. Last year, 17 students committed suicide in Kota. The state government as well as the district administration has taken several measures and issued guidelines to check such incidents. Around 1.75 lakhs students from across the country have come to Kota in recent years for coaching for entrance tests.