Desperate attempts by police to
prevent suicides at Vashi Creek
By Dinesh Kamath
(Above) Picture of Vashi Creek
NAVI MUMBAI: Just recently Vashi police had rescued
two females who attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the Vashi Creek.
Such cases of committing or attempting suicide have occurred many times at
Vashi Creek. This place is become a kind of ‘Suicide Spot’. The Navi Mumbai
police are desperately trying to remove this tag of ‘Suicide Spot’ that is
attached to Vashi Creek. They have also invited suggestions from the Navi
Mumbai residents to prevent suicides from taking place at this creek. The
police department of the city is also planning to put up at the right places banners
asking people not to consider their lives as so cheap so as to give them up at
this spot.
In the past,
there were many incidents of suicide that had occurred at this spot. The
psychologists in the city have come up with many reasons that lead a person to
commit suicide. They have come up with explanation about what exactly gives
birth to suicidal tendencies. As far as Vashi Creek is concerned, those with
suicidal tendencies find this spot most convenient to end their lives since all
tat they need to do is jump off the bridge. But what is a solution for these
desperate individuals is a big problem for the police department.
Hence the city
police have arranged a special boat service to keep a watch on this spot and to
rush to the rescue of anybody whom they discover while attempting suicide. This
way, the police feel, many lives can be saved. Small boats during low tide can
prove to be useful to reach the person who has jumped off the bridge and save
his or her life on time. Making use of speedboats would have been a good idea
but it is not possible to operate a speedboat in this creek. The fishermen
residing around the creek are asked to keep vigil and lend their boats during
emergency. They are also promised payment for this service. There are many
cases where people who have attempted suicides by going deep into the waters
have been saved by fishermen. Fishermen feel at home in the waters and also they
are very well informed about the area where they pursue their fishing business
and hence they have no problem in rushing to the rescue of those people who
choose waters to end their lives. If a boat is not available, these fishermen
are able to rescue the persons attempting suicide by using wooden planks lying
around to reach the person.
A resident of Vashi
who resides near the creek said, “It is not enough to just save those people
who attempt suicide here. Those saved from ending their lives should be given
the necessary psychiatric department and they should be counseled by a
competent psychologist. They should be made to understand the value of life and
the ways to tackle problems that life offers them. Suicide, after all, is not a
solution to any problem. It is an act of cowardice.”
The city police
authorities have also planned to post policemen along the bridge to keep vigil
and prevent suicide attempts. The police authorities are trying to come up with
a plan which is absolutely fool-proof and which will at least minimize, if not
totally eliminate, the number of suicide cases.
An elderly man
from Vashi said, “It is not enough to just put up banners asking people not to commit
suicides. The family of one with suicidal tendency should also be asked to
remain alert and quickly detect such suicidal tendency and take necessary actions.
Banners with life-inspiring slogans should be meant not just for the one with
suicidal tendency but also for his or her family members.”
Thus Navi Mumbai
police authorities deserve to be lauded for trying their level best to minimize
cases of suicide at Vashi Creek. Even the fear of the fact that policemen are patrolling
at this spot can prevent a person from attempting suicide at this spot. Thus it
is a good move on the part of the city policemen to try and chalk out ways and
means to stop people from committing suicide at this creek.
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