Chandigarh: Against the backdrop of alarming mental health indicators, including Chandigarh’s suicide rate more than double the national average, and the deaths of eight students by suicide in 2024 and 2025, Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday inaugurated project SAATHI, a mental health and holistic wellness programme for school students, jointly launched by the UT department of school education and the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation (CCF).Addressing the gathering, Kataria lauded the foundation’s efforts under its president, former Army chief Gen VP Malik (retd), and described the initiative as a timely and pioneering step to address the growing emotional and mental health challenges faced by students. He said Chandigarh could emerge as a model city for the country by successfully implementing such preventive and innovative wellness programmes.Project SAATHI will be piloted in seven government schools and will focus on students of Classes 7, 8, 9 and 11. The programme includes capacity-building of principals, teachers and counsellors through training and sensitisation workshops, along with student-centric activities such as yoga, meditation, creative therapies, community group engagement and life skills education to reduce stress and promote mental well-being.General VP Malik (retd) said more than 225 professionals associated with CCF were working through subject-specific focus groups to design and implement impactful social projects and provide policy inputs to the government. Additional Chief Secretary J M Balamurugan briefed attendees on the structure and objectives of the project.As many as 13 major causes for mental health issues were identified such as, abuse, bullying, parental separation, exam/career anxiety, etc. Developed with inputs from institutions such as NIMHANS, PGIMER and GMCH, the six-month pilot will be implemented by a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals, educators, yoga experts and counsellors. Based on its outcomes, the programme may be expanded to other schools and colleges.Senior officials of the Chandigarh administration, including chief secretary H Rajesh Prasad and education secretary Prerna Puri, were present at the inauguration. A sensitisation workshop for 108 government school principals was held following the event.
