THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two weeks back, 28-year-old Rohini (name changed) of Pozhiyoor, a coastal area in the capital city, hanged herself to death. She has two children. The initial police investigation revealed that she had been in an extramarital affair and had eloped with her lover. However, she came back to her husband and demanded a share in his property which he refused to give. This prompted her to take the extreme step.
Another incident was reported from the same area, in which a debt-ridden woman died by suicide. The woman had opened a shop before the pandemic. However, she was unable to make up for the financial losses incurred during to the pandemic-induced lockdown. Not just women, many men from Pozhiyoor have also died by suicide recently.
One such case was that of a middle-aged man addicted to alcohol, who took his life after fighting with his wife. In all these alleged suicides, extra-marital affairs, financial problems and alcoholism were found to be the reasons.
“Pozhiyoor is a coastal area with high population density. As the suicides reported had varied reasons and those who had died were of different age groups, it is difficult to come up with a viable solution to prevent such tragedies.
Although several people had ended their lives mainly due to family problems, no proper study has been conducted to assess why there is an increase in the number of such cases in the region. As many as 20 suicide cases were reported over the past three years. In these, 60 per cent were men. Hence, a proper study needs to be done with the help of the government agencies,” said Jyothi Basu, a researcher and a resident. Given the situation, group of youngsters from the region organised an awareness seminar last month, with the support of Kanal Innovations, an NGO.
“Only a few people from the region participated in the event, which highlights the lack of concern among people regarding the malaise. Unless more effort is made, the issue cannot be resolved,” said Justin Alex, another resident.
Dr Jain Amost, assistant surgeon at Family Health Centre, Pozhiyoor opined that youngsters in the region are addicted to gadgets. “They are always hooked onto their phones and land in trouble without knowing about its dangers. Language barriers and inferiority complex among youngsters in remote areas often lead to crimes and substance abuse,” he said.
“Most of the suicides reported from Pozhiyoor in the recent years were due to family problems,” said an officer of the Pozhiyoor police station. Anson P D Alexander, president of Kanal, said they had organised a campaign in tribal settlements such as Palode, Kuttichal and Peringamala and coastal areas such as Vithura to understand the issues faced by the people in backward communities.
“During the campaign, we noticed that many alleged suicides of young women were reported from the backward communities. At Pozhiyoor, since both men and women were dying by suicide, we organised an awareness programme related to suicide prevention there. We are seeking state intervention to find a long-term solution,” he said.