“What the media reports about suicides is merely a trigger; it can be averted if the individual tries to identify people with suicidal tendencies and assure them of all assistance,” said counsellor and columnist Dr Khwaja.

He was speaking at a seminar on ‘The increase in incidence of suicides amongst adolescents’, organised by Mahila Dakshata Samiti at the Police Commissioner’s office here on Saturday. Dr Khwaja said, “People with suicidal tendencies have a low self-esteem; they have apprehensions coupled with fear about their future. We need people who can tell them, ‘I am with you’,” said Dr Khwaja. Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao was the chief guest.