216 people committed suicide in 2013
Jamshedpur : The suicide graph is climbing in Steel City with figures showing an alarming trend.
Despite efforts to curb the menace as many as 216 persons committed suicide in the city in the year 2013. While in 2012 the figure was 208 only.
City based suicide prevention center Jeevan, has informed that the past year has been testing year for the Steel
city with an average of one person ending life abruptly on every alternative day.
” A total of 216 people committed suicide in 2013 as against 208 in 2012, 206 in 2011, 200 in 2010, 136 in 2009
and 173 in 2008.
The reasons, as cited by psychiatrists, vary largely from complicated lifestyle and family problems to aggression and addiction.
M. Ram, director of Jeevan, which received 503 distressed calls in 2013, said “In our study we have found
that depression and rising pressure to perform is the prime reason for the rising suicides.
While studying we have found that people who are depressed have higher tendency to commit suicide.
So there is an urgent need to understand the problem and address it “Teenagers are particularly sensitive to social and economic problems that affect their families.
It hurts their psyche to see parents struggling to meet both ends and unable to buy those things they’d like to have,” said Prakash Sharma a social worker.
According to information the district administration has also agreed to the request of Jeevan to install 100 hoardings across the city carrying message to prevent the suicides in the industrial town.
The hoardings will mention in detail about the symptoms of a person possessing suicide tendency so that the family members of the respective person take preventive measures before hand and prevent the incident to take place.
“Depression is the major concern of the society. It is not only medically harmful but it also leads people to
commit suicide.
While studying we have found that people who are depressed have higher tendency to commit suicide. So there is an
urgent need to understand the problem and address it,” said Dr. U K Srivastava, city based medical practioner
He said that cases are caused by exposure of youths to uninhibited violence on television.
The inability to perform well in examinations also forced students to end life. Like failure, illness is also a major cause of suicide.
“Trends are changing in our city though the numbers have reduced this year. Suicide, which about two decades ago was supposed to be the domain of the elderly, youths and women have taken the lead in this pursuit of death,” said
Srivastava.
Notably the city has a very high rate of suicidal deaths that is 9.5 persons per lakh of population per year,
which is more than the rate at metro like Kolkata( 1.52) and Mumbai ( 6.6).