Bhubaneswar: Tele-MANAS, the Union govt’s helpline that provides mental health support round-the-clock, has received the third highest number of calls from Odisha between Dec 1, 2022 and July 24, 2025, with a majority of concerns being education-related, as per National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences’ (NIMHANS) statistics.Launched by the Union health ministry in 2022 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and operated by NIMHANS in Bengaluru, the helpline received as many as 5,89,039 calls in the aforementioned period, with 2,30,117 calls from Odisha. At 4,39,164 calls, Uttar Pradesh made the highest number of calls, followed by Tamil Nadu with 3,87,190 calls, according to an RTI reply given by NIMHANS to a Kota-based activist and advocate, Sujeet Swami. This indicates that Odisha saw an average of 200 to 250 calls per day.While Tele-MANAS counselling and psychological support is available in Odia, there is a dedicated state Tele-MANAS cell at the Mental Health Institute of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. In addition to this main cell, another Tele-MANAS cell of the district mental health programme operates on the premises of MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. AIIMS, Bhubaneswar acts as the mentoring institute for the Tele-MANAS programme in Odisha.The data provided by NIMHANS highlights a diverse range of callers, with people in the 31-60 age group making the majority of such calls for consultations. While the reasons behind these calls are varied, education-related anxiety and depression are one of the biggest stressors and apparently, an average of 5,000 calls were made every year seeking help in dealing with those issues. This is followed by relationship issues and financial stress.Last year in March, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Assembly that 72 students of both private and govt schools and colleges allegedly died by suicide since 2020 and some of the primary reasons were academic stress and depression related to relationships, among other factors.City-based mental health counsellor Dr Anuradha Mohapatra said the youth population seeks mental health counselling the most. Facing anxiety about their education and parental expectations, they face a big gap between what they are pursuing in their schools and colleges and what their actual career demands are, she said. “Besides, distractions through social media, burnout and gadget usage is far too much,” Mohapatra added.
