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| Kathmandu, Sunday May 18, 2003 Jestha 04, 2060. |
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Experts worry over growing number of
suicide cases
By Bikash Sangraula
KATHMANDU, May 17 : Two years ago, 26-year-old Ramita (name
changed) of a well-off middle-class family committed suicide by injecting lethal
quantities of anesthetics into her blood stream. She was a medical doctor, had a daughter,
and had been living with her own parents after a long, strained relationship with her
husband and her in-laws.
Only a small group of her family and close friends were
present during her cremation at the cremation spot in Pashupatinath. Her husband and
in-laws never arrived.
The same year, Anjan (name changed), 30, son of a retired
police officer, died after taking unsafe quantities of heroine. It was no accident, claim
his parents. "It was deliberate," says his father. Anjan had been a heroine
addict for over five years. He did away with his life after realizing that he had failed
as a son, husband, and citizen.
While the fact that even educated people are committing
suicide is worrisome, experts point out that the rise in the number of suicide cases over
the years has been alarming.
In the last six months, two people committed suicide
everyday, on an average in Kathmandu alone, according to data made available by the Valley
Crime Investigation Branch (VCIB), Hanumandhoka. Of that, 52 percent were male. People in
the age group 16-40 constituted sixty-six percent of the total suicides.
While there has been no systematic research as for the
reasons why suicide rate has picked up in the nation, senior psychologist Dr. Nirakarman
Shrestha points out lack of counselling as a major reason.
"Since the youth are most prone to suicide attempts,
awareness programmes in school and colleges can help," he told The Kathmandu Post.
Shrestha has been providing emergency counselling to at least three individuals every
week, trying to convince them not to attempt suicide. A majority of them were found to
have resolved to commit suicide after suffering from a prolonged period of depression.
Shrestha argues that the family, more than anything else, can
be instrumental in preventing a person from taking that desperate step. "It is mostly
determined by what kind of a family environment an individual lives in. A person belonging
to a supportive, open and loving family has nominal chances of committing suicide,"
he said.
The problem in Nepal is that people are unaware of their
mental conditions. And even if they are aware, most are unwilling to take expert’s
advice, owing to cynicism as well as the fear that visiting a psychiatrist can brand them
as lunatics.
Since many of the pre-suicide family feuds are reported to
the police, VCIP started a counselling service a few months ago, hoping to check on
domestic violence and suicides. Thus far, only two men and one woman came seeking
counselling.
"Despite our efforts, the suicide rate has doubled this
year as compared to last year," Superintendent of Police Binod Singh, Chief of VCIP,
told The Kathmandu Post. "We hoped that we could cooperate with independent
organisations working in the area. But none has turned up so far," he added.
Most of the suicide cases reported to police are due to
frustrated love affairs and financial failures. The other major reasons are unreasonable
ambitions, mental illnesses and physical handicap, according to preliminary investigations
carried out by VCIP.
There were 210 suicides reported in the valley during 2058,
380 in 2059, and 70 suicides in Baishakh this year. The national figures for the same
periods are 2012, 3333, and 500. Seventy percent of them were committed by hanging, 18
percent by taking poisonous substances and 12 percent by setting fire on oneself, drowning
and using sharp weapons.
The Muluki Ain’s section on life terms suicide as a
crime. But it is unclear as to what the person attempting suicide can face if the attempt
fails. "One of the ways of checking suicides is to make strong punitive provisions in
the Muluki Ain for those who survive an attempt," said SP Singh.
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