The first death in Punjab due to the alleged stress caused by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was reported from Gurdaspur district when a government school teacher committed suicide by jumping into the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) system on Tuesday morning.

Gurpreet Singh, working in a government primary school in Bhaini Mian Khan, informed a teacher colleague, Gurpartap Singh, that “he was under tremendous mental stress due to the SIR exercise and was going to commit suicide.”

The canal system flows near his school in Bhaini Mian Khan. The deceased’s wife is also a government school teacher.

“I am parking my car near the canal and am going to jump into the water,” he purportedly told his colleague on the phone.

A video of the teacher colleague’s statement has gone viral. Scores of villagers, relatives and colleagues rushed to the site of the incident after news spread of the suicide.

Gurpreet’s relatives and some village youth dived into the canal to trace his body. His body was recovered from Tugalwal, five hours after the incident.

Government teachers have been assigned booth level officers (BLOs) duties to complete the process.

A majority of them have been claiming that the SIR of electrical rolls consists of unrealistic deadlines and a lack of proper training, which often leads to an overwhelming workload.

Sources claim the intense stress is compounded by the threat of disciplinary action against field staff for failing to meet their quotas or submission targets.