One person, mostly a man, takes his life almost every day in the capital city.
This is what suicide statistics, compiled by the District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB), say about 2013 and there has been no visible change this year. Figures till July indicate that the trend continues.
The statistics, compiled from suicide cases registered in police stations within the Thiruvananthapuram city limits, show that there were 347 suicides in 2013, out of which 268 were of men. In 2014, till July, the figure is 209, with 180 being men.
In 2013, the toll included 21 students and in 2014 (till July) 13 students had taken their lives.
The age-wise statistics, available for 2014, shows that the toll was highest in the 45-59 age group, the number being 58 and 50 of it being men. There were 52 suicides, 35 of them men, in the 15-29 age group, while there were 57 deaths (46 men) in the 30-44 age group.
Suicides by those above 60 years of age were 42 till July, 33 of them men.
Prime reasons
The reasons, assessed from details in crime files in police stations, are varied. But mental illness tops the list, both in 2013 and 2014. As many as 160 resorted to the extreme step due to mental illnesses last year. The figure this year is 83.
Family problems came next on the list with 40 deaths in 2013 and 41 this year.
Prolonged illnesses also figure prominently on the list. As many as 34 people committed suicide due to health-related issues in 2013, it is 24 this year.
Drug abuse is estimated to have driven 10 people to take their lives in 2013. It is 14 this year.
‘Love affairs’ claimed seven lives so far in 2014, while in 2013, the figure was three.
Dial police, seek help
Police officials, who analysed the figures at a meeting recently, are thinking of extending help by asking those in distress to call up the police and seek help.
Toll-free numbers would be publicised, they say. A concrete action plan to tackle the issue is yet to be worked out, a senior police official says.
Among the 347 people who committed suicides in 2013, 204 were classified as labourers or drivers, while the corresponding figure in 2014, till July, was 101.
As many as 40 housewives were among those who took their lives in 2013, while in 2014, there were 32 housewives as per the statistics compiled so far.
