Sagnik Sinha, Abhirup Nag and Jyotishman Biswas with the drone that they built

KOLKATA: Three youths with mental health issues have built a drone and are now gearing up to apply for the licence.
Sagnik Sinha, a BTech graduate, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The 30-year-old had a job in an IT company, but lost it due to the illness. Now in a rehab centre with West Bengal Forum for Mental Health for about two years, the Salt Lake resident has bagged a job as a probationary officer in a nationalised bank.

“I am loving this process of making a drone and trying to fly it. It is a wonderful feeling and I will keep this as a hobby,” said Sinha.
The organisation that deals with people with different mental health issues conducted assessments to determine the kind of creative activity each person can be engaged in as part of the therapy. Sinha, along with Abhirup Nag (15) and Jyotishman Biswas (23), were chosen to be trained in making drones.

While Nag suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Biswas suffers from autism spectrum disorder and OCD. “Someday, I want to set up a school where children like me will be taught how to make drones,” said Abhirup, a Behala resident.
“Parents should not brood if their kids have mental health issues. All they need is professional help,” said Mahendra Singh, president of the forum.