In the second week of December, a 35-year-old man called the Jeevan Aastha Helpline (JAH) while standing near the Jamalpur Bridge spanning the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. The sole breadwinner of the household had defaulted on several installments of his bank loan.
Unable to meet his family’s financial needs, he moved to the Sabarmati riverfront, from whose waters every year river rescue teams pull out more than 200 people, many of whom have died.
Walking along the eastern side of Sardar Bridge from Jamalpur, a signboard caught people’s attention.
“Suicide is not the solution to your problems” was written on the board along with a phone number. The person called the helpline number (1800-233-3330) and approached a senior counselor – a last ditch effort for help.
“I spoke to him for more than 25 minutes. That man was in a lot of financial trouble. He was unable to meet his family’s monetary needs and bank officials knocked on the door to collect the remaining installments. Although he seemed receptive to counselling, he was suicidal, so we contacted the Ahmedabad police, who rushed to the spot and rescued him,” said a senior counselor at Jayah, which operates under the Suraksha Setu initiative. Gujarat Police.
Although this man was lucky to get the help he deserved, the poor attitude of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) towards repairing these important signboards means that others are not so lucky.
On December 17, an 18-year-old youth who had no job jumped into the Sabarmati river from the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar bridge connecting Ashram road on the west coast with the Piplaj-Pirana area on the east coast. . Soon, crowds of eager onlookers began building traffic on the bridge.
There are many cases where people even note the number from the signboards… even if they are hesitant at first, they later call and seek help.
Senior Advisor,
Life Faith Helpline
People stopped in the middle of the road, parked their vehicles and stared into the murky waters of the Sabarmati as two river rescue teams from Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) tried to search for the newly arrived man. Attempted to end his life by climbing a 12 feet high bridge barrier (fence). This incident happened around 5:10 pm.
The river rescue team, which arrived within a few minutes after measuring the accident site, started search and rescue operations in the river in a grid pattern with dredging tools behind their boats.
Even as the precious minutes dwindled, the public had the attention span. People seem to forget that human life is at stake. Some were busy calling friends and family to watch the spectacle, some took videos and photos and then there were some who were discussing the futility of saving someone who wanted to end their life in the first place.
A poster put up by SRFDCL on the riverfront reads: “Stop. Don’t make rash decisions out of anger.” However, no helpline number has been provided with these indications (Express).
After 15 minutes, there was no sign of people and public interest seemed to have waned, with many recording videos on their mobile phones and absconding. However, congestion on the east bank of the riverfront only seems to increase. At 5:45 in the evening, there was a sound of joy when the rescuers took the young man’s hand from the water and brought him to the boat. However, the revival efforts proved futile.
Earlier, a signboard was placed on the east side exactly behind the place where the young man jumped to prevent suicide. But the signboard disappeared and with it the promise of help. And another life that could have survived in the Sabarmati river was lost.
In November 2023, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) placed anti-suicide signboards on seven bridges spanning the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. These signboards on both sides of the bridge also have a helpline number (1800-233-3330), urging people in need to call and seek help, a sympathetic ear, a friendly shoulder and a kind word. assures. The moment when all seems lost.
Notably, the program was adopted from an earlier campaign on the Narmada Canal in Gandhinagar, where JAH received a total of 508 calls from people reading the signboard between 2015 and 2022. Of these, 322 people who had committed suicide successfully communicated. Beyond taking extreme steps. Of the 322 rescued, 217 agreed to undergo follow-up counselling.
More calls, fewer deaths
JAH received 1,682 phone calls seeking help between November 2023 and October 2024, compared to the same period last year. Retired police inspector Praveen Valera, who continues to guide the Jeevan Aastha team, said the number of calls for help has increased by 34 percent.
Compared to 211 incidents of jumping into the Sabarmati river between November 2022 and October 2023, the number has come down to 185 between November 2023 and October 2024, according to Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) data. ). Moreover, the number of deaths decreased from 184 (between November 2022 to October 2023) to 153 (between November 2023 and October 2024). According to statistics, 27 people were rescued between November 2022 and October 2023, and 32 between November 2023 and October 2024.
Number of deaths per decade
In the last 10 (calendar) years from 2014 to 2023, 2,206 people have jumped into the Sabarmati River. Of these, 1,755 (75%) people died and only 451 (25%) were saved. This is not only due to the fact that almost all bridges over the river have bridge barriers (barriers), but there is a railway along the entire stretch of riverfront.
Bharat Mangela, one of the two members of the Sabarmati River Rescue Team expected to rescue everyone along the 11-km stretch of the Sabarmati riverfront with the help of a colleague and a single boat, says, ‘Almost all the people we rescue are those who deliberately jump into the river. The reasons they told us included marital problems, financial problems, youth not being accepted by the family, depression, being in debt, not being able to control addictions,” Mangela said. “There were many cases where people were suffering from cancer or other major illnesses,” Mangela added.
“There are also cases of women jumping into the river with their children due to domestic disputes. “A girl who got married last month against her family’s wishes got so upset after her family did not invite her to her brother’s wedding that she tried to jump into the river,” he said.
“Recently, we have also seen an increase in cases of victims of cybercrime and choosing to commit suicide as criminals threaten to leak their private videos. Social shame is a huge damaging factor,” Mangala said.
Signs of neglect
In November 2023, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner M Thenarasan ordered the installation of suicide signboards on seven of the nine river bridges: Subhash Bridge, Dadichi Bridge, Gandhi Bridge, Alice Bridge, Nehru Bridge, Sardar Bridge and Ambedkar Bridge. Each bridge had two signboards, one on the west side and one on the east side, for a total of 14 boards.
This month, when The Indian Express checked the placement of signboards on all seven bridges, only four were in place with no signs on the remaining boards.
Only the signboards remained intact at Ellisbridge (Vivekananda), west end of Subhash Bridge and east end of Sardar Bridge.
Almost all the people we rescue are those who deliberately jump into the river. Reasons include marital problems, financial problems and addictions.
Bharat Mangala, Rescue team member
Although no signboards were ever seen on Indira Bridge and Atal Foot Bridge, the boards on Dadichi Bridge, Gandhi Bridge, Nehru Bridge and Ambedkar Bridge, which were installed last year, have completely disappeared. When contacted, AMC Assistant Health Officer Dr Sanket Patel, who is in charge of the programme, said he was not aware of the lack of signboards. He has promised to investigate the matter.
Lackadaisical approach
While there are some bridges with helpline signboards, no such measure has been taken along the Sabarmati River, whose long and often dark stretches are a prime spot for people falling into the river.
A senior adviser at JAH said, “Recently, we received a call from a 25-year-old youth who had gone to live on the banks of the Sabarmati river. However, after seeing a signboard on the bridge, he called the helpline. He said that he wanted to end his life because he was fired from his job. We took him out of the decision. We didn’t have to call the police to save him.”
“There are many cases where people even pick numbers from signboards, they hesitate at first but later seek help,” added the consultant. According to rescuers, the number of suicides near the riverfront is also increasing.
The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) has put up small signs that read “Don’t make rash decisions in anger”.
There is no helpline number or assistance provided in these signs. When asked about this, Executive Director Dev Chaudhary, who is also Deputy Municipal Commissioner with the AMC, said, “We will definitely ensure that boards with helpline numbers are placed along the river banks, especially near the stairs so that people can see it immediately. While entering the lower footpath .”
Lack of manpower
The 11 km long riverfront is set to be extended by 5.5 km – making it 38.5 km in length – under Phase-II of the development project, extending to Gandhinagar in seven phases. However, due to the increasing length of the riverfront and with it the influx of people who spend time there, only two men – part of the AFES River Rescue Team – have been guarding it for the past decade.
The two men in the same boat are expected to patrol the river from side to side rescuing anyone who tries to jump in or falls. In the last 10 years, the two-man team has managed to save 451 lives and still only 25% of those who fell or jumped into the river.
Although there have been plans to establish fire stations (small fire stations with boats) on both banks of the river for a few years, these plans have not been implemented yet. Rescuers said most of the people they found were already dead. When asked about this, in-charge Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Jayesh Khadia said that there is no firm plan so far.
The police have promised to take action
Ahmedabad city police’s Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) said in early December that it will study nine bridges where suicides or attempted suicides have occurred, with key points including the impact of fences, signboards and helplines.
According to DCP Ajit Rajian, only 536 cases of accidental death (AD) have been registered at Riverfront East and West police stations in the last five years.
The police will divide the statistics into accidental deaths and suicides. However, data obtained by The Indian Express from river rescue teams shows that in the last five years, between 2019 and 2023, a total of 681 people have died.
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