17 suicides in 18 days in Tripura’s Dhalai district

Kamalpur in Tripura’s Dhalai district has become increasingly suicide-prone with as many as 17 persons of different ages having ended their lives over the last 18 days in the town. The issue has been discussed in the State Assembly and other forums, but no concrete plan has emerged to try to mitigate the problem.

Prayas — a social initiative of the Tripura police — organises awareness programmes and counselling every now and then to check suicidal tendencies. The initiative was recently introduced at Jamthum, a remote locality in Kamalpur, in the wake of the rising suicide trend in the subdivision.

“This is basically to create awareness against social evils like torture for dowry which often lead to suicide,” Pradip Das, Kuchuchara police officer, told

The Hindu on Monday.

He said the programme in the area would get more focus after the Lok Sabha election. Among those who committed suicide in Kamalpur were farmers, housewives, youths and students.

Tripura has seen a high rate of suicide in the past few years. In an Assembly session, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar expressed his concern after tabling statistics on the social peril.

According to Mr. Sarkar, 301 persons committed suicide in five months in the State, which has a population of a little over three million, putting the rate at two persons per day.