Rise in suicidal tendency cause for concern

Bangalore, Sep 8 (UNI) Suicidal tendency is assuming alarming proportions in the country with over one lakh cases registered annually over the last few years, Dr G Gururaj of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences cautioned today.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said of the one lakh suicides reported, people in the age group of 20 to 40 accounted for 60 per cent.

While the number of suicides reported during the 80s was around 45,000 annually, and within the next two decades the number has doubled, he pointed out.

Lamenting that with each passing year, the number of suicides were on the rise, Dr Gururaj, who headed the Epideminology department at NIMHANS, informed that suicidal behaviour was assuming epidemic proportions in the country and Karnataka stood third, next to Kerala and Maharashtra.

He said Bangalore, which had been growing at a phenomenal pace during the last decade, had registered about 1400 to 1500 cases each during 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Dr Gururaj said people resort to suicides due to various factors including social, economic, cultural, religious and health. Lack of protection in a society both at individual and family levels drive them to take the extreme step.

He said in developing countries factors related to family life, education, changing lifestyle, growing aspirations, peer pressure and neglect of children and senior citizens were generally responsible for the extreme step.

However, developed countries took systematic efforts to cut down the number of suicidal deaths taking serious view of the profound economic and socio-cultural losses linked to each case of suicide.

However, this was not happening in developing countries like India, he rued.

Dr Gururaj said several organistions in Karnataka had come together to check suicides. In this context, a multi-sectoral awareness campaign ''Life - You're worth it'' had jointly been launched in the city by several organisations including NIMHANS, Medico Pastoral Association, Rotary Bangalore East, Voices, Viveka Counselling Centre, Banjara Academy and Makkala Sahayavani.

He announced that several programmes, including a seminar, had been organised in the city on September 10 to mark the World Suicide Prevention Day.

UNI MV RG SY KN1805