Sanjivani to de-stress CRPF personnel

To tackle the growing incidence of suicides among its cadres, the Central Reserve Police Force has launched a pilot project...

To tackle the growing incidence of suicides among its cadres, the Central Reserve Police Force CRPF has launched a pilot project to counsel its men and reduce their stress level.

8220;We have launched a pilot project 8212; Sanjivini 8212; to counsel our men,8221; Director-General CRPF Syed Iftiqaar Sultan Ahmed said. 8220;The project is aimed at reducing the stress level of the paramilitary troopers. If the project shows results, we will extend it further,8221; he added.

The number of CRPF jawans committing suicide has shown a rise in the past three years. This year, till November end, 40 CRPF men had committed suicide. 8220;Last year, the number of suicide cases among the CRPF men was 32,8221; DG Ahmed said. In 2005, 19 CRPF men had killed themselves due to stress.

Through the Sanjivini Project, which is already operational in Chhattisgarh, the CRPF, besides counseling its men, contemplates to train the families of jawans in de-stressing programme.

8220;By counseling the families of the jawans, we want to achieve the final objective of decreasing the stress level among our men,8221; the DG said.

The CRPF has 201 battalions across the country and each is deployed and operational on the ground. The jawans posted in J-K and the northeast are under maximum stress.

There are 75 CRPF battalions, including three Mahila battalions, posted in Jammu and Kashmir. This year, so far, seven CRPF men have committed suicide in the Valley.

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The CRPF has already taken some measures to nip this suicidal trend in Kashmir. 8220;Senior officers are taking personal interest in redressing the grievances of the jawans,8221; the spokesman of the CRPF in Srinagar said.

8220;The Inspector-General of the CRPF has kept the first Tuesday of every month for addressing the problems of the jawans. Similarly, the DIGs and commandants also hold darbars every month to sort out, as far as possible, the issues of the CRPF personnel, even if these are personal in nature,8221; he said.