Chandigarh, Jan. 29 -- Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday inaugurated "Project SAATHI", a mental health and wellness initiative for government school students, being implemented by the UT education department in partnership with the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation (CCF). The project includes life skills education, yoga, meditation, creative therapies and group activities aimed at stress reduction and emotional resilience among students. Conceived as a six month pilot, Project SAATHI will be rolled out in seven government schools, targeting students of Classes 7, 8, 9 and 11. The programme also focuses on training principals, teachers and counsellors to better identify and respond to students' mental health needs. Describing the programme as a timely and preventive intervention, the governor said initiatives such as Project SAATHI could position Chandigarh as a national model for school based mental healthcare. The project aims to address rising emotional and psychological challenges among adolescents through early intervention and capacity building within schools. CCF president Gen VP Malik (retd) said the initiative brings together over 225 professionals working across 12 focus groups to support citizen centric social programmes and policy advisories. Additional chief secretary, J M Balamurugan, outlined the project's structure and implementation framework. He said that the project is developed with expert inputs from institutions such as National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and Government Medical College & Hospital (GMCH). Based on its outcomes, the project is proposed to be replicated across more schools and colleges. The inauguration was followed by a sensitisation workshop for all 108 government school principals....