1 Indian kills self every 4 minutes; Karnataka among top 5 states

Agencies
September 2, 2020

India has reported a 3.4% increase suicide cases in 2019, with a distraught person killing himself every four minutes in the country. Shockingly, five states -- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka -- alone account for 49.5% of the suicides in the country.

Altogether, 1,39,123 people, including 41,493 women and 17 transgenders, took their own lives last year compared to 1,34,516 in 2018.

While the number of suicides in the country had decreased in 2016 (1.31 lakh) and 2017 (1.29 lakh), the numbers have shown an increase in the past two years. In 2015, the figures stood at 1.33 lakh.

In 1967 when the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started collating reports on suicides, there were 38,829 suicides, including 16,192 women.

According to the 'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2019' report, Maharashtra had the highest number of suicides at 18,916 followed by Tamil Nadu (13,493) and West Bengal (12,665). Madhya Pradesh with 12,457 and Karnataka with 11,288 cases were the other states in the top five.

Among the 53 mega cities with over 10 lakh population, Chennai (2,461), Delhi City (2,423), Bengaluru (2,081) and Mumbai (1,229) have reported higher numbers of suicides. These four cities together have reported almost 36.6% (22,390) of the total suicides.

Bengaluru City has shown a slight decline during 2019 over 2018 when 2,082 suicides were reported. Chennai has shown an increase of 17.1% (from 2,102 suicides to 2,461 suicides), Mumbai 4.7% (from 1,174 suicides to 1,229 suicides) and Delhi City has observed an increase of 2.3% (from 2,369 suicides to 2,423 suicides)

"Each suicide is a personal tragedy that prematurely takes the life of an individual and has a continuing ripple effect, dramatically affecting the lives of families, friends and communities," the report said.

Since 2008, 15.98 lakh people have taken their lives owing to various reasons like family problems, illness, career problems, sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss and chronic pain among others.

The 2019 figures also reinforce the trend that the poorest sections of the society take the extreme step the most.

Two-third of the total suicides in the country in 2019 were by those with an annual income of less than Rs one lakh, which meant the victims earned less than Rs 8,300 a month.

Last year saw 92,083 people (66.18% of 1.39 lakh) with an annual income less than Rs one lakh died by suicide.

Among the poorest victims, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of suicides at 9,723 followed by West Bengal 9,636, Karnataka (7,029) and Maharashtra (4,521).

While the 2019 figure for such people is more than that of 2018 (88,986 or 66.2%) and 2017 (84,934 or 65.4%), it has not crossed the 2016 numbers when India recorded 92,732 (70.8%) such incidents.

When it comes to people having an income of Rs one lakh to Rs five lakh, there were 41,497 people who took their own life while there were 4,824 with an annual income between Rs five lakh and ten lakh who died by suicide.

The number of people with more than Rs 10 lakh annual income was 1,089 with West Bengal topping the list with 218 cases followed by Telangana (180) and Haryana (152). Karnataka had 24 such cases.

When it comes to educational status, the number of people with higher qualifications was very less.

Only 335 professionals, including MBAs, committed suicide in 2019 compared to 403 in the previous year. However, the number of graduates and above rose to 5,185 from 4,447 and 4,027 in 2018 and 2017 respectively.

Those who had studied between Class VIII and Class X had the highest number at 32427 (31,757 in 2018) followed by 27,323 (26,252) in Class V-VII category, 22,469 (23,048) in Class 1-IV and 17,588 (17,026) with no education at all.

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News Network
November 27,2024

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Gaza health authorities say Israel’s military has "erased” over 1,400 Palestinian families in the besieged territory over the past year.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the Israeli regime "completely erased about 1,410 families, numbering 5,444 people, from the civil registry during the same period.”

It said that there were 3,463 families with only one survivor, while 2,287 families had more than one survivor.

In northern Gaza, Israel’s warplanes have continued dropping bombs over Palestinian families, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

It said one airstrike hit a family home in Jabalia, causing numerous casualties on Tuesday.

According to Gaza's civil defense agency, at least seven people were killed and several others wounded in the attack.

Another person was killed in a strike on a house in nearby Beit Lahia, a town in northern Gaza, which has been declared “a disaster area" by the municipality due to "the Israeli war of extermination and siege, and it has no food, water, hospitals, doctors, services, or communications."

The health ministry said, “Israeli forces killed 14 people and injured 108 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours.”

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”

International organizations and leaders believe that Israel’s genocidal war, now in its second year, is a deliberate attempt to destroy the population of Gaza.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 15,2024

Udupi: The Tourism Department is planning a major eco-friendly development initiative for Kamini Island, located near the Blue Flag-certified Padubidri End Point beach, aiming to attract more visitors while maintaining environmental sustainability.

Assistant Director Kumar CU emphasized that, given the island’s proximity to the Blue Flag beach, all development efforts will center around eco-friendly practices. “We are looking to enhance the Kamini River and the island’s surroundings by adding a hanging bridge, nature trails, and eco-friendly food courts offering traditional cuisine. Visitors will also be able to reach the island by pedal boats or kayaking,” he said.

The development project is estimated to cost between Rs 3 crore and Rs 4 crore. Meanwhile, the Blue Flag beach, Padubidri, continues to see a steady flow of visitors. Vijay Shetty, manager of the beach, shared that tenders for food courts and water sports have been awarded to private parties. Recently, three new coracles have been introduced, which are proving to be a hit with visitors. Additionally, three more shelters are expected to be ready by November 20.

Shetty mentioned that the beach can now accommodate between 2,500 and 3,000 visitors daily, although footfall remains lower than other district beaches due to user fees and activity restrictions. “Initially, most visitors were from Mangaluru, but now nearly 40% come from other districts, showing a shift in the visitor demographics,” Shetty noted.

To further boost tourism and promote a healthy lifestyle, a Beach Carnival is set to take place on November 23-24, featuring the National Sea Swimming Championship and a sea marathon in collaboration with the Padubidri JCI, which is celebrating its golden jubilee. Cultural events will be held at the main beach, with some sports events taking place at the Blue Flag beach. Emphasis will be placed on making all activities environmentally friendly.

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