Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

'Hidden eye' to avert suicides at Secretariat

By Radha Venkatesan

A hidden camera at the Secretariat in Chennai. — Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

Chennai April 22. With yet another man killing himself at the Secretariat here a fortnight ago, the anxious police have now set up `hidden' cameras to avert suicides at the seat of power in the State.

`Discreet' cameras have been installed at the Fort St.George outgate and on a small stretch of lawn, bang opposite the Chief Minister's Cell, where a petitioner, 35-year-old Annadurai, from Vellore district, collapsed after consuming poison on April 7. When the petitioners begin to trickle in in the morning, the cameras move into position along with a mobile van with closed circuit monitors to keep tab on their movement right from the point they alight from the bus and walk into the Chief Minister's Cell.

Ever since Ms. Jayalalithaa returned to power and began a mass contact programme for receiving petitions directly from the people, the Fort St.Geroge has played host to a flood of petitioners from every nook of the State. And, along with 4.59 lakh petitions in 2001 and 3.99 lakh last year, came several threats of turning the Secretariat into a suicide point. At least three persons, including a couple, died and 11 attempted suicide between May 2001 and August 2002.

With at least three or four petitioners threatening to kill themselves everyday, the Government, for the first time, set up a counselling centre at the Chief Minister's Cell and hired nine psychologists. For over eight months, till the death of the Vellore youth early this month, there was not a single case of suicide attempt at Fort.St.George, though some continued their "you do or I'll die" blackmail tactic. "We hope the cameras will, at least, catch the petitioners carrying poison bottles. But it is only a hope," says an agitated police officer.

The counsellors are having a harried time with at least 60 per cent of the petitioners demanding jobs, at a time when the State has imposed a freeze on recruitment. The latest victim, Annadurai, too had demanded a government job, not satisfied with a placement provided by the Collector in a private firm.

Eccentric demands

The petition mela may have become infrequent as the Chief Minister is busy with the Assembly session, but already 68,000 petitioners have poured in this year. And, some of them, suffering from acute depression or hallucination, come up with "eccentric demands".

Take the case of 19-year-old Kumar from Tiruvallur, who insists on meeting the Chief Minister to seek her help to go to the moon with the Russian President's daughter!

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