Installation of iron guard on Adityapur bridge almost over

Jamshedpur: Work on the installation of protective net on either side of Adityapur Toll Bridge (ATB) to prevent suicide attempts is almost over.
Officials of the NGO, Jeevan, which took the initiative to install the net, said that it is likely to be inaugurated in May.
The director of the organisation, Jeoraj Jain, said that the iron guard is being set up at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. Tata Steel is cooperating in the installation, he said. The five-foot-high iron wall along the 2.22 km long toll bridge will help prevent suicide attempts at the bridge, he added.
Moreover, the proposed fencing of the 300-metre-long Kharkai old bridge, which connects the industrial town of Jamshedpur with the ancillary town of Adityapur, will be undertaken in the next few months. "The iron net fencing on the old bridge will be done by the Seraikela-Kharsawan district administration," Jain said.
He said that due to the smaller height of the guard rail of the two bridges, several incidents of fatal jumps have occurred over the years. With over 200 suicides being reported every year in the urban circle, on an average, one person attempts a fatal jump from each bridge every month, a Jeevan official said. Five cases of suicide attempts have been reported cumulatively from both bridges till April this year.
"After the iron fencing of the Jaiprakash Narayan Setu (Mango bridge over Subernarekha) was completed by the East Singhbhum district administration in 2015, suicide attempts from this bridge stopped," Jain said.
The Adityapur police station in-charge Binod Tirkey said that the iron fencing was designed to curb fatal jumps. The fencing work shall start soon.