Self-slaughters in North Telangana baffle civil society 

Adilabad: Something seems to be terribly amiss in some of the most backward districts in the country. In a shocking development, a sizable number of people are committing suicide in on one pretext or the other in the undivided district, causing annoyance to the police in particular and the society in general.

The reasons for these suicides though sound silly, the number of people who embrace death is alarmingly increasing by the day. While one committed suicide after his mother scolded him, another took the extreme step after failing in the examination. Some are resorting to suicide out of sheer despair while some others are killing themselves after facing financial crunch.

On an average, three persons are committing suicide every day in the four districts of Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal and Asifabad. According to date available with the police, during the last 10 months alone, a whopping 1,095 persons including 827 men and 268 women committed suicide over petty reasons.

As many as 223 persons, after falling sick, preferred to commit suicide instead of going for treatment of the ailment and 185 persons resorted to take the extreme step due to family disputes. Particularly, 41 women committed suicide by setting themselves ablaze due to alleged harassment by their in-laws resulting in their wards becoming orphans.

Whatever be the problem, many people are resorting to take their own lives instead of attempting to solve them. In the spurt of the moment, many are consuming poison 369 persons preferred poison whereas 210 persons preferred hanging themselves. A total of 13 students took their lives after they failed in the exams in the last one year.

Noticeably, a number of farmers are committing suicide after they suffered heavy loss in cultivation of various crops 34 farmers took their lives, to be precise. The families who lost their heads are facing hardship. They hope to get some financial aid from the government. However, they are yet to receive any financial aid from the government due to indifference of the officials.

Most of the suicide victims were in the age group of 15 to 45. Among 268 women, who killed themselves, 80 per cent were below 30 years of age. Adilabad Superintendent of Police Sreenivas said the problems the suicide victims faced were not unsolvable. “They are simply killing themselves over petty reasons that someone scolded them or failed in some exam,” he stated. Expressing regret over the loss of valuable lives over petty reasons, the SP said it was not difficult to find a solution for any problem.

The SP said the police were taking precautions to prevent suicides and as part of it, a helpline was set up to help the people who intend to commit suicide. Asking people to call the helpline for immediate assistance from the police whenever they toyed with the idea of committing suicide, he said the police were ready to solve their problems. The police are also planning to organise awareness camps in villages and schools to encourage people to live and face the life.

Psychiatrist Om Prakash said it was baffling that such a huge number of people were committing suicide in the four districts. He said that stress, lack of direction, impatience, and taking decision on the spur of the moment were the reasons for taking the extreme step. The youth in the villages were committing suicide due to despair and it was high time they were helped with counseling, he added. With proper counseling, these persons could be saved by recognising their depressed mood. Likewise, the students should be given proper counseling by the parents and teachers to discourage them from taking their own lives in case they failed in exams, experts say.

By Thotla Chinna Anjaiah