STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Family problems, love affair and marriage related issues are major causes of suicide in Assam during 2019.
The latest report published by the Nation Crime Reports Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that altogether 2370 committed suicides in 2019. The figure was 2379 in 2018.
According to the NCRB report family problems are responsible for 25.94% suicides in Assam in 2019 followed by love affair (15.69%), property dispute (11.77%), marriage related issues (10.21%), unemployment (6.54%), illness (6.6%), failure in examination (4.3 per cent) and drug abuse or addiction (3.8%).
Even though the rate of suicide in Assam (6.9%) is below the national average rate (10.4%), mental health experts said the scene in the State is a matter of serious concern. Suicide rate means number of suicides per lakh population. Clinical psychiatrists at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital said much suicide cases might have gone unreported in Assam.
On other hand Sikkim and Tripura has the highest suicide rates in the North East in 2019. While Sikkim ranked first with 33.1 per, Tripura reported 18.2 per cent of cases. The NCRB report also said that the two States surpassed the national level suicide rate that stands at 10.4 percent in 2019.
After Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh reported 7.4 per cent suicide rate to become third in Northeast followed by Assam (6.9%) and Meghalaya (6.1%). Nagaland and Mizoram were in the last positions recording 1.9% cases each.
Altogether 1,39,123 suicides were reported in 2019 and 1,34,516 such cases in 2018 across the country showing an increase of 3.4 per cent in the last year.
"Every year, more than 1, 00,000 people commit suicide in our country. There are various causes of suicides like professional/career problems, sense ofisolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss, chronic pain etc", the NCRB report reads.
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