Suicide cases on the rise in Chennai

NDTV carried the following story on the rising suicide trends in our city. It’s certainly not a good trend :-(. What could be the reason? Too much stress from parents? Or could it be because of a very competitive environment for the younger generations?

There is growing concern about the increasing number of suicide cases, particularly among youngsters, in Chennai. In order to battle this trend – just before the World Suicide Prevention Day, which is on September 10th – 27 students from the Adarsh Vidyala school in Chennai took a joint pledge not to commit suicide. Doctors at Royapettah government hospital, who organised the event, say that the exercise was necessary to build awareness among teenagers.

Statistics show that more and more young people between the ages of 15 and 29 in the city are committing suicide. Among the most common causes are parental pressure, failure in relationships and failure in exams. For instance, 15-year-old Sangeetha consumed acid because her mother scolded her for playing instead of studying. “Don’t ever try this, what I have done to myself. If your mother scolds you, be calm and don’t take a step like this,” said Sangeetha, Student. According to the police a growing number of cases of suicide attempts are being reported in the city.

World’s Top 10 Richest Tech Titans

Business Magazine Forbes has come out with its list of top 10 richest tech titans. I am sure as you look through the list most of the names might sound familiar. Bill Gates continues to hold on to his #1 position. An interesting aspect is 9 out of the 10 members on the list are founders of the company. The only exception is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Another interesting characteristic of the list is that with the exception of Dell all other companies are primarily in the software business. Azim Premji of Wipro is the lone Indian in the list.