Suicides Citing Poverty Increase By 162% In Gujarat, Unemployment Up By 21% In 2018: Govt Data

Gujarat recorded 294 suicides in 2018 with the reason mainly being distress due to ‘poverty’ or economic situation.

According to the recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ released on Thursday, 318 persons ended their lives citing ‘unemployment’ as the reason.

The figures were 21% more than those recorded in 2017.

Among the cities, Ahmedabad recorded 31 suicides due to unemployment and Vadodara recorded 18.

The report also revealed that 67 people in Gujarat committed suicide due to bankruptcy and 136 cited career issues.

The maximum rise compared to 2017 was recorded in ‘daily wage earner’ category where compared to 2,131 in 2017, 2018 recorded 2,522, a rise of 18.3%.

The number of people identified as ‘unemployed’ rose from 369 to 411, a rise of 11.3%. In 891 cases, the suicide victims were identified as self-employed, a rise of 2% from 872 in 2017.

The ‘professional’ category recorded a decrease of 1% in suicide victims — from 869 to 856.

Government employees were identified as suicide victims in 75 cases, higher than the 69 cases in 2017. Retired people also recorded 11.4% rise in suicides with 260 cases.

Out of 7,793 suicide victims in 2018, 73.3% were earning less than Rs 1 lakh per annum, 25.5% were earning Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, 1% Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and 0.2% above Rs 10 lakh.

Number of those committing suicide with over Rs 5 lakh per annum income lessened by 55.5% from 182 in 2017 to 81 in 2018.

Also Read: 10,349 Farmers Committed Suicides In 2018 In India, Highest In Maharashtra: NCRB