Cyclists to cover Pondicherry-Mahe to sensitise against suicide

Puducherry: Three cyclists will be covering 620 km in 50 hours from Puducherry to Mahe in a bid to create awareness on the growing number of suicide cases and the need to curb them. They started their ride on World Suicide Prevention Day on Saturday.

Karthiga Ruban,I. Varadhdesigan, and A.R. Vanan started their cycle ride from Puducherry, as part of the ‘Cycle around globe initiative’ , an international campaign introduced by World Health Organization (WHO) and International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). The cycle rally was jointly organised by Youth Helpline-Puducherry, a counselling division of Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL) and Puducherry Cycling Sports Association (PCSP).

The rally was flagged off by Rachna Singh P.P.S. ,Superintendent of Police north division. Puducherry had undergone rapid changes that affected both rural and urban life. The impact of this can be seen in all levels, said Siva Mathiyazhagan, co-founder of TYCL.

One of the growing social problems is the increase in youth suicide in Puducherry, he said. According to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) Report-2014, Puducherry secured top in the country in suicides.  The same report reveals that 68 per cent of the victims are in the age group of 14-35 years, he said.

“Cycling around the globe campaign has been initiated to sensitise public through cycling and encourage people to have a healthy physical and mental well-being to prevent them from negative mind-set,” he said. The rally will be addressed by legislator D. Ramachandran at Mahe on Monday, said the organisers.