July 24, 2017
The Metropolitan Police Office released alarming statistics about the rising rate of suicidal deaths over the years in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to the authority, 468 suicide cases were recorded in the Valley in the 2016-17 fiscal year, compared to 400 in 2014-15 and 402 in 2015-16.
The increasing rate of suicidal deaths is really alarming as their number is seven times the number of murders and double the number of deaths.
In 2016-17, at least 56 persons were murdered and 182 died in road accidents, which compared to suicides makes one suicide per day in the Valley.
Betrayal in love, terminal diseases, mental disorders, financial problems, pressure from or scolding by parents, and domestic disputes, among others are the major reasons behind the increasing rate of suicides, the police said.
The victims include youth, adolescents, divorced and single people, unemployed, drug addicts, members of broken family, housewives, victims of sexual abuse and drug abusers, among others.
The World Health Organization reports over 800,000 suicides across the world, every year. According to WHO, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people in the age group of 15-29 years, and 77 percent of global suicides occur in low-middle income countries.