By Prathiba Raju, IANS,
New Delhi : Three suicides in just two months. In a city where stress runs high, Delhi Metro tracks seem to have become the lodestone for those looking to end their lives in the anonymity of the thousands of footfalls passing through busy stations.
Just a week ago, on March 6, a 22-year-old youth jumped on to the track before a running train at the Mayur Vihar Phase I Metro station in east Delhi. Four days before that, on March 2, another 24-year-old man committed suicide by jumping on to the tracks at the Chandni Chowk station.
There were two similar incidents in February and two in January. While three were rescued in time, a 21-year-old woman who had jumped off the platform at the Preet Vihar Metro station in east Delhi after an argument with her boyfriend on Valentine’s day couldn’t be saved.
Following the tragedy, which police said occurred because of the spat, the memories return to haunt her friend. Declining to be named, he said it was punishment for him to walk past the platform every day.
“I can’t forget what happened. Whenever I pass the platform and the Metro railing from where she jumped, it comes back to me,” said the teen, gazing emptily at the spot from where his friend jumped to her death.
Psychiatrists say the trend is not just unfortunate but unavoidable.
“Most of the time, a person takes the extreme step of committing suicide in an instant. And in a place that is easily accessible like a train track. Even the media plays a role in setting a trend of a particular place becoming a suicide point, like a Metro station,” said Dr. Puneet Dwivedi, a psychiatrist.
According to police, about five suicide attempts take place on Metro stations every year. The last few months have seen a jump in the numbers, with seven cases being reported since December.
“There is an increase in the suicide attempts in the Metro stations, particularly in the past couple of months,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Railways) B.S. Gurjar told IANS.
“Apart from increasing vigil and deputing more security guards, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) can install platform screen doors (PSD). That can at least be a step to ensure safety of commuters,” Gurjar suggested.
PSDs are automatic glass doors installed at the platform to keep passengers away from the track. All six Metro stations of the high-speed 23-km Airport Metro have PSDs.
Cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Paris have installed PSDs at most stations.
DMRC officials, however, believe that PSDs are no solution.
“The PSDs can just ensure safety of commuters, but it can’t stop suicide attempts. It is not that every suicide attempt is made by jumping on the Metro track; at times many try to fall from the platforms or railings, which are 20 to 25 feet above the ground level,” a Delhi Metro official told IANS.
Delhi Metro chief Mangu Singh had recently said there were plans to install PSDs at two of the busiest interchange stations – Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate – by the end of this year.
“Installing PSDs is costly and it has more chances of software snags in the Metro system. We need to think over it before installing it,” an official said.
The problem of urban angst leading to suicides goes beyond the facts.
“Most of the time, suicide attempts are foiled by train operators. About 125 lives have been saved by our train drivers since 2003 by applying emergency brakes. While recruiting train operators, we conduct a psychometric test to detect their alertness,” a senior Metro official said.
Some cases of attempted suicides and suicides over 2011 in Delhi Metro till now:
Feb 15, 2011: A 22-year-old engineering student from Rajasthan committed suicide by jumping off an elevated Metro station in Kirti Nagar of west Delhi.
Dec 14, 2011 : A woman jumped on the train tracks at the Subhash Nagar Metro station. An approaching train ran over her. The police recovered a suicide note from the deceased.
Jan 24, 2012 : A 24-year-old man jumped before a train at the Chandni Chowk Metro station. The train operator operated the emergency brake and he was saved.
Jan 27, 2012 : A young women suffered critical injuries after she jumped from the Kanhaiya Nagar Metro station.
Feb 14, 2012 : A 21-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping off the platform and on to the street below Preet Vihar Metro station in east Delhi. According to police, she decided to commit suicide after an argument with her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.
Feb 19, 2012 : A 45-year-old man was critically injured as he fell on the tracks at the Sultanpur Metro station.
March 2, 2012: A 24-year-old man was killed when he jumped on to the tracks at the Chandni Chowk Metro station.
March 6, 2012 : A 22-year-old youth died by jumping before a train at the Mayur Vihar Phase I Metro station.
(Pratibha Raju can be contacted at [email protected])