BHUBANESWAR: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have profound mental health consequences if rising suicidal deaths are any indication. Odisha has been ranked second in terms of suicide among students in the country last year.
According to National Crime Record Bureau's (NCRB) latest report on accidental deaths and suicides, 1,469 students have committed suicide in the State in 2020. With 1,648 suicides (13.2 per cent) Maharashtra topped the list, followed by 11.7 per cent in Odisha, 1,158 (9.2 per cent) in Madhya Pradesh, 930 (7.4 per cent) in Tamil Nadu and 704 (5.6 per cent) in Jharkhand.
Apart from family issues, illness has been cited among the reasons behind the suicides. Odisha recorded the fourth highest cases of suicide among unemployed persons and fifth highest number of suicide cases of the persons engaged in business activities last year.
The majority of suicide committed by unemployed persons in 2020 was in Maharashtra - 11.8 per cent (1,843), 11.3 per cent (1,769) Kerala, 10 per cent (1,566) Tamil Nadu, 8.9 per cent (1,398) Odisha and 8.6 per cent (1,350) in Karnataka during the period.
Karnataka reported 15.1 per cent of suicide cases among the persons engaged in business activities, followed by Maharashtra 13.7 per cent, Tamil Nadu 12.4 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 7.8 per cent and Odisha 6.4 per cent.
The suicide cases in Odisha rose by 21 per cent in one year. The State recorded 5,546 suicide cases in 2020 as against 4,582 in 2019. The suicide rate has also increased from 10.5 in 2019 to 12.2 in 2020.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm).