Mysore/Bengaluru: In response to the alarming rise in student suicides within hostels, particularly by hanging, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) has decided to implement suicide-prevention mechanisms on ceiling fans across all medical colleges under its jurisdiction.
Anti-Suicide Fan Devices: The decision comes in the wake of two shocking suicides within a span of two weeks at the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), where students took their own lives by hanging in their hostel rooms.
How the Anti-Suicide Fan Devices Work
A team led by Dr. Sanjeev from the Curriculum Development Cell (CDC) of RGUHS visited MIMS in the last week of July to assess the situation and discuss possible preventive interventions with local authorities.
During the meeting, Dr. Sanjeev revealed that work is already underway to install protective devices on fans to prevent such incidents. According to sources, the proposed anti-suicide device is designed to detect abnormal weight on the fan. If any attempt to hang from the fan is made, the mechanism triggers an automatic release, detaching the fan from its ceiling hook.
In addition, an in-built siren is activated, alerting hostel authorities to immediate intervention. This dual mechanism is intended not only to stop the suicide attempt but also to provide crucial response time to potentially save lives.
A demonstration of the device was reportedly conducted at MIMS. During the discussion, some doctors even suggested mounting fans directly onto the ceiling without a downrod hook so that the entire unit collapses under excess pressure, preventing hanging attempts altogether.
This initiative has gained urgency after the recent tragic deaths of two students:
- Bharat Yattinmani, a medical student from Koppal district, was found dead in his hostel room at the end of July.
- Just days later, on August 2, Nishkala, a final-year B.Sc. A nursing student also died by suicide in her hostel room.
These incidents have once again brought to light a disturbing pattern in Karnataka’s medical colleges, where academic pressure, isolation, and unresolved mental health issues are often overlooked until it is too late.
While the introduction of anti-suicide fan mechanisms is a welcome technological intervention, it also raises a critical question: Why did it take multiple deaths to consider such a basic safety measure? The move, though technical in nature, signifies an overdue administrative acknowledgment of a deeper crisis.
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However, experts caution that such mechanical safeguards, though important, cannot replace the need for trained mental health professionals, institutionalized support systems, and proactive student engagement.
The installation of these devices is only a starting point. A sustained, compassionate, and well-structured response to student mental health must follow.
I am Manish Gupta – a pharmacy graduate from PSIT Kanpur and the founder & CEO of Medicovada. Medicovada is a health and wellness blogging platform that promotes evidence-based information on natural lifestyle and preventive care.
