"Important to take care of mental health during COVID pandemic" Karnataka Minister K Sudhakar
Bengaluru: People should take care of their mental health, apart from their physical well being, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said here on Friday.
He also suggested that the public could avail of personal counseling provided by the state government in case they needed it.
"Citizens should concentrate more on their mental health during this pandemic period. Suicide, madness, stress, and other such things are the results of mental depression," Sudhakar was quoted as saying by his office in a release.
Noting that WHO reports around 7.5 percent of people in India are victims of mental depression and the country contributes 15 percent of global mental illness, he cited a survey which said that by 2020, 20 percent of people in India would suffer from mental illness. In view of such factors, people should prioritize mental health, he said.
Pointing out that Karnataka has a separate mental health authority, the Minister said over 7.13 lakh people had already availed of a personal counseling facility.
"Our doctors and nurses are boosting the morale of the patients, apart from rendering regular treatment," he said.
October 10 is observed as a world mental health day to create awareness about mental health.
Highlighting the hardships caused by the pandemic, he said many people had lost their jobs due to the economic crisis, others have had salaries deducted, while those who have jobs are mostly working from homes.
These were some causes for mental depression, he said, adding that family members should support the victims in such difficult times.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
