Now, the entire machinery of Kota’s estimated Rs 10,000 crore coaching industry—from politicians, police, district administration, teachers, institute directors, hostel owners, landlords, doctors, counsellors, and psychiatrists—have turned their gaze on the students and their mental health. Kota is now swinging between two extremes—an unsparing treadmill and an over-caring nanny.
“Earlier, we were helping those who screamed for help. Now, we have to find them and help them,” said Om Prakash Bunkar, Kota’s district magistrate.
On 24 June, Rajasthan’s director general of police (DGP) Umesh Mishra formed a team of 11 officers — six women and five men — to establish a student cell. Most were in their late 40s, and the first thing they did was launch a helpline.
Within a few hours of the helpline going live, SOS calls started coming in. ‘Food quality is worse in our mess,’ reported one caller. ‘My hostel isn’t returning the security fees, I want to go back to my home,’ said another student. One female student was distraught over “vulgar comments” that someone had posted on her social media profile. Another aspirant just wanted to have a long conversation with someone, so ASP Chandrasil Thakur, who was heading the team, spoke to him for hours. “He just said that his heart isn’t in his studies,” Thakur said.
The helpline number has become a single-window option for students. There have been more than 300 SOS calls received on the helpline so far, but five calls shook the entire police student cell.
by Jyoti Yadav
12/09/2023