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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rain-hit farmers line up for help at Agra mental institute -Aditya Dev

Rain-hit farmers line up for help at Agra mental institute -Aditya Dev

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published Published on Apr 14, 2015   modified Modified on Apr 14, 2015
-The Times of India

AGRA: Unseasonal rains that lashed fields across northern India and destroyed crops have not only driven farmers to commit suicide by the dozens, many are now lining up at mental hospitals for help.

In just the last one month, there has been a staggering 33% increase in patients visiting Agra's renowned Institute of Mental Health and Hospital (IMHH). Doctors at the hospital told TOI on Monday that almost all of the new patients are farmers in deep depression, those who have incurred heavy losses and have no way of paying back banks and money lenders from whom they have taken loans, a common trend especially among small agriculturists across the country.

Doctors attending on the patients said a majority of them have developed suicidal tendencies. IMHH is now set to start a special clinic soon to deal with the rush of farmer-patients. Doctors are also set to visit villages to gain first-hand experience of the reality the farmers face, and possibly treat some of them at home.

Sudhir Kumar, director, IMHH said, "This is a first for us - we have not seen this kind of calamity on such a mass scale. Our villages have very strong social support systems, and residents sit together to resolve problems. In the current scenario, however, almost all of them are suffering. Our main job is to tell them we are with them. That society has not abandoned them."

Kumar said farmers visiting the out-patient department (OPD) are being counselled. "Natural calamities can be overcome, and one can hope for a profit with the next crop cycle. But if they take the extreme step, they will leave families in the lurch. Family members are being cautioned to stay alert and comfort patients if they see signs of distress," the doctor said.

On an average, IMHH receives about 300 patients a day in the OPDs. In the past month, though, the figure has shot up to 400 - most of the new patients being farm hands.

Medical superintendent of IMHH DM Rathor added, "Ever since the natural catastrophe hit, we have been seeing many cases of relapse - of patients who were earlier under control and getting on with medicines in need of medical attention again. Many new patients suffering from depression and adjustment disorder have been displaying suicidal tendencies."

Among the symptoms commonly described are the unwillingness to talk, sleep disorders, frequent thoughts of ending life, and the need to cry, the medical superintendent said.

He said there was a 20% increase in patients found to be extremely vulnerable and under great stress. Such cases are admitted and treated in the in-patient facilities. IMHH has added two new wards with 60 beds.

Rajveer, 50, a resident of Surothi village in Achnera, could barely speak and was shivering violently as he waited for his turn to see a doctor at the hospital on Monday. A friend who was accompanying him said that Rajveer had been struggling with clinical depression for a few years. With the latest round of crop losses, however, he had given up eating food, and was unable to sleep.

Speaking to TOI, Rajveer later said, "I have over one acre of land, and I planted wheat. Over 50% of my crop is lost. I don't know how I will feed my family or make good the losses. I haven't received any compensation from the government so far."

Nihal Singh, 40, a resident of Fatehabad, would not speak much, and responded to all questions with monosyllabic answers. He said he had lost "everything" in the rains of February and March.

Kumar said a team of four doctors, accompanied by social workers and nurses, would run a special clinic for farmers at the institute, from Monday to Saturday. The clinic will start functioning very soon, he said. The doctors have been directed to undertake two visits each week to villages, meet farmers and their families and do on the spot counselling-medication.

The Times of India, 13 April, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/Rain-hit-farmers-line-up-for-help-at-Agra-mental-institute/articleshow/46910725.cms


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