Over the last couple of weeks, motorists riding on the Thiru-Vi-Ka bridge at Adyar have been noticing an anomaly. On the side of the road leading to Mandaveli, streetlights installed by Greater Chennai Corporation are facing the Adyar river.
Increasing luminosity along the parapet wall of the bridge is the latest in a series of attempts by the civic body to prevent people with suicidal tendencies from jumping into the river.
With 2,274 cases in 2015, Chennai led the country in cities with most suicidal deaths, according to the accidental death and suicides report.
According to corporation sources, the instruction to install the streetlights facing the river came from the secretary to the municipal administration department, K Phanindra Reddy. The orders were issued based on recommendations from the city police department.
"The request was for such installations in five bridges in the city. At Adyar, the installation was done three weeks ago. It is a pilot project. Based on its effectiveness, we have been asked to extend the feature to other bridges," said a corporation official.
The Thiru Vi Ka bridge had gained notoriety in recent years after it took over the dubious title of "suicide hotspot" from the Kotturpuram bridge upstream.
According to Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder, Sneha suicide prevention centre, the number of jumpers at the Adyar bridge rose after the corporation put up a parapet wall on the Kotturpuram bridge following the suicide of singer Nithyashree Mahadevan's husband in 2012.
Though the parapet wall on Thiru Vi Ka bridge is raised on the eastern side, on the western side the wall can be scaled easily. It is said there had been at least 10 suicide attempts from the bridge in the past eight months.
Besides on the Adyar bridge, corporation officials said they would install river facing streetlights on the Kotturpuram and Quaid-e-Millath bridges and the bridges near Kasi theatre, on Pallavan Salai, and the one in the Royapuram zone near Basin Bridge.
"Lighting up the river side and the parapet wall area is beneficial in two ways. One is that passers-by can spot the jumpers and rescue or dissuade them from jumping. Second, since most suicide attempts happen closer to nightfall, precious time is lost by the time rescue forces arrive, rig up a light and begin search operations. It becomes difficult to find the person," said Lakshmi.
She added that the corporation can also put up suicide prevention centre helpline numbers on the bridge as jumpers tend to reach out at the last minute. Sneha's helpline numbers are: 044 - 2464 0050/60.
Increasing luminosity along the parapet wall of the bridge is the latest in a series of attempts by the civic body to prevent people with suicidal tendencies from jumping into the river.
With 2,274 cases in 2015, Chennai led the country in cities with most suicidal deaths, according to the accidental death and suicides report.
According to corporation sources, the instruction to install the streetlights facing the river came from the secretary to the municipal administration department, K Phanindra Reddy. The orders were issued based on recommendations from the city police department.
"The request was for such installations in five bridges in the city. At Adyar, the installation was done three weeks ago. It is a pilot project. Based on its effectiveness, we have been asked to extend the feature to other bridges," said a corporation official.
The Thiru Vi Ka bridge had gained notoriety in recent years after it took over the dubious title of "suicide hotspot" from the Kotturpuram bridge upstream.
According to Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder, Sneha suicide prevention centre, the number of jumpers at the Adyar bridge rose after the corporation put up a parapet wall on the Kotturpuram bridge following the suicide of singer Nithyashree Mahadevan's husband in 2012.
Though the parapet wall on Thiru Vi Ka bridge is raised on the eastern side, on the western side the wall can be scaled easily. It is said there had been at least 10 suicide attempts from the bridge in the past eight months.
Besides on the Adyar bridge, corporation officials said they would install river facing streetlights on the Kotturpuram and Quaid-e-Millath bridges and the bridges near Kasi theatre, on Pallavan Salai, and the one in the Royapuram zone near Basin Bridge.
"Lighting up the river side and the parapet wall area is beneficial in two ways. One is that passers-by can spot the jumpers and rescue or dissuade them from jumping. Second, since most suicide attempts happen closer to nightfall, precious time is lost by the time rescue forces arrive, rig up a light and begin search operations. It becomes difficult to find the person," said Lakshmi.
She added that the corporation can also put up suicide prevention centre helpline numbers on the bridge as jumpers tend to reach out at the last minute. Sneha's helpline numbers are: 044 - 2464 0050/60.