Palakkad District Initiates Coordinated Drive to Prevent Suicides Among Children

Palakkad District Collector M.S. Madhavikutty convened a meeting to discuss suicidal tendencies among children, which suggested a multi-pronged approach to address the issue. The remedies proposed included stronger parental training, better student support systems, and inter-departmental coordination.

The meeting, attended by representatives from various government departments, emphasized the need for structured training programmes for parents to identify early warning signs and provide timely emotional and psychological support to children.

District Panchayat president T.M. Sasi announced plans to deploy around 100 counsellors across schools in the district under a special initiative.

The immediate next steps include developing a district-level special action plan to streamline prevention efforts and launching a mass awareness campaign involving multiple stakeholders. The district authorities will also explore forming special intervention teams at the block level and involving college students through internship programmes.