In a bid to prevent rising suicide cases in Rajasthan’s Kota, the district administration adopted a controversial approach in dealing with the problem by installing spring-loaded fans in all hostel rooms, reports emerged on Friday.
This comes after 22nd suicide case was reported in Kota this year with 18-year-old suicide preparing for the Indian Institutes of Technology Joint Entrance Examination died.
Kota District Collector Om Prakash Bunkar was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, “To provide mental support and security to the students studying/living in them and to prevent suicides from increasing among coaching students in Kota city, all hostel/PG operators in the state are directed to install a security spring device in the fans at every room.”
“Springs in these ceiling fans are designed to uncoil the moment it detects a load, effectively detaching the fan from the ceiling, and preventing hangings. The fans will also have installed sensors that sound an alarm in the event of an attempted suicide,” he added.
