Grim reality: At 4,191, Haryana leads region in deaths by suicide

CHANDIGARH: Seventy nine percent of the total 4,191 suicides recorded last year in Haryana were committed by men, revealed the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ report for 2019 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

With 3% share in total suicides in the country, Haryana was way ahead of Delhi where 2,526 people ended their lives followed by 2,357 in Punjab, 584 in Himachal, 284 in J&K and 131 in Chandigarh. A total of 1,39,123 suicides were reported in the country in 2019, with the majority of them in Maharashtra (18,916).

As per the NCRB’s suicide data, of the 4,191 people ending lives in Haryana, 3,297 were men and 894 women. In 2018, at least 3,547 suicides were reported in the state. Hence, at least 11 people killed themselves everyday in Haryana in 2019. While 2,338 men who killed themselves were married, 610 were unmarried and 26 were widower. Similarly, among the women, 629 were married and 199 unmarried.

Among those who took the extreme step in Haryana were 130 men and 22 women with economic status of over ₹10 lakh per annum. The suicide rate of Haryana was 14.5 in 2019.

5,269 LIVES LOST

IN ROAD ACCIDENTS

If Haryana saw at least 11 suicides in a day last year, road accidents killed as many as 14 people daily in 2019.

As per the NCRB data, the number of road accidents came down from 11,652 in 2018 to 10,937 in 2019 in the state wherein 9,247 people were injured and 5,269 (4,592 men, 677 women) were killed.

However, the total traffic accidents (including road, railway and railway crossing mishaps) were 12,403. Apart from 5,269 people killed in road accidents, 1,278 lives (1,149 men, 129 women) were snuffed out in railway accidents and 84 people died in railway crossing mishaps. Thus, a total of 6,631 (5,825 men, 806 women) people lost their lives in traffic accidents in the state. The accidents at the railway crossing left 104 people injured.

The NH accounted for the most of the road accidents (3,182) in which 1,829 people had died. The state highways saw 2,542 accidents and 1,274 fatalities, while 104 people died in 173 accidents on expressways.

Maximum casualties were reported in the age group of 30-45 years followed by the 18-30 years bracket.