N R Madhusudan/ENS

Bangalore, Mar 24: The Koramangala murder-suicide should turn public attention to how the lucrative, but all-consuming field of information technology takes a toll on the lives of techies in the IT-driven city of Bangalore. There have been a shocking five cases in one year alone, where techies have committed suicides over disturbances in marriage due to hectic work schedules and resulting stress and depression.

Dr Sudheer Hebbar, Consultant Psychiatrist of Apollo Hospital says: ''As software professionals work very long hours, they do no t get adequate time for rest and recreation. They tend to develop physical and mental problems due to their work schedules. They are prone to physical problems like joint pains, backache and mental problems like depression and anxiety. Thereby, marital discord is a common phenomenon among the software professionals, especially if one of the spouses is not working.''

Prof C R Chandrashekhar, Professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), agrees with Dr Hebbar. ''They work on time-bound projects and have to compete with their peers. Hence they suffer from various mental problems like stress, sleeplessness, irritation, anger, depression and at times even frustration. These things lead to various psychosomatic diseases. Gradually their sexual urge comes down, as a result of which marital discord creeps in,'' he said.