Kerala - Kochi   

Suicide rate remains high in Kerala

KOCHI: As the world observes yet another Suicide Prevention Day on Wednesday, the situation in the State appears far from reassuring.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention along with the World Health Organisation observes September 10 every year as World Suicide Prevention Day. This year, the theme is “Think globally, plan nationally, act locally.”

A paper compiled by Maithri, an organisation affiliated to Befrienders India - national association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India, points at the challenge faced by the State.

Based on the data available with the National Crime Records Bureau, the paper states that Kerala’s suicide rate is almost three times that of the national average. Converted into figures, it means that about 27 out of a population of every one lakh commit suicide.

It says that in 2006 alone 9,026 persons — 6,583 men and 2,443 women — killed themselves in the State. The scene assumes alarming proportions considering the fact that for those committing suicide, there is almost 10 times that number of failed suicide attempts, the paper says.

Another distressing fact is that as many as 114 children below the age of 14 were among those who committed suicide in 2006. Suicide rate (the number of suicides per one lakh population), among men aged between 44 and 59 was 84.42. As per the data for 2004, people aged above 60 accounted for 19.32 per cent of the total suicides.

The silver lining in the midst of this rather gloomy scenario is the fact that suicide rate in the State is declining gradually. From 31 in 1999, it has come down to 26.8 in 2006. The decline is more pronounced among the women as the number has dropped from 18.4 to 12.04 during the same period.

The paper recommends a Kerala State Mission for Preventing Suicide along the lines of Kerala State AIDS Control Society, which has produced desirable impact over the years.

Another paper brought out by Befrienders India states that the country witnessed a total of 1,18,112 suicides during 2006. Disturbingly, this is an increase of 3.7 per cent over the previous year. There was an overall increase of 33.9 per cent in the number of suicides during the decade of 1996-2006, the paper said.

West Bengal has reported the highest number of suicides (15,725) in 2006, followed by Maharashtra (15,494). Andhra Pradesh (13,276), Tamil Nadu (12,381), and Karnataka (12,212) are next in the list. Put together, these five States accounted for 58.4 per cent of the total suicides reported in the country, the paper says.

In terms of suicide rate, Pondicherry (50.2) topped the list. Andaman and Nicobar Islands (33.6), Kerala (26.8), Sikkim (25) and Tripura (22.3) were not far behind.

Family problems and illness were the major causes for suicide accounting for 26.1 per cent and 22.5 per cent respectively of the total suicides. Love affairs (3.4 per cent), bankruptcy (2.8 per cent), and poverty (2.2 per cent) also pushed people towards the brink, the paper says.

It points out that the four metropolitan cities of Chennai (2,427), Bangalore (2,008), Delhi (1,296) and Mumbai (1,195) taken together accounted for 50 per cent of the total suicides reported from 35 mega cities.

The suicide rate in cities at 12.8 per cent was higher than the all-India rate of 10.5 per cent.

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