MYSURU: Call it the fallout of the lockdowns or financial crisis triggered by the Covid pandemic, Karnataka reported the highest suicides of businessmen in the country in 2020. According to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the state reported 1,772 deaths of businessmen, including vendors, tradesmen and other business owners last year, contributing around 15 per cent to the total number of suicides of businessmen in the country.
With the falling sales after the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns during 2020, many traders, vendors and micro, small and medium enterprise owners have taken the extreme step due to financial distress. The statistics revealed that 592 vendors, 968 tradesmen and 212 businessmen running various other businesses committed suicide accounting for over 1,772 deaths, of which 1,699 were men and 73 women.
In 2019, the state reported 875 deaths of businessmen, which included 175 vendors, 204 tradesmen and 496 running other businesses. A comparison between the two years reveals a jump of over 103 per cent in suicides among the business community proving that Covid impacted this sector badly and failed to create a profitable business model for many.
The NCRB data revealed that Karnataka, which stood in the third place in total number of suicides from the business community in the country in 2019, climbed to the top position in 2020.