Deaths by suicide on the rise in Kurnool

KURNOOL: Deaths by suicide are registering a steady growth in the district. The suicide of a teacher couple, running a private school at Koilakuntla, has shaken the conscience of the people.

Incidents of students, farmers and women committing suicide are being reported with alarming regularity though the reasons attributed to such deaths vary. While students take the extreme step as they were unable to cope with studies, farmers and women's deaths could be linked to financial and societal pressure, said Dr. Venkataramudu, a psychotherapist. Lack of hope, despair, mood swings, and financial crunch are the leading causes of a person committing suicide, he said.

Police records show that suicide deaths were recorded at 675 in 2015, 670(2016), 645(2017), 1220 (2018), 1780 (2019) and 506 (2020). This year over 100 suicide deaths have been reported from the 87 police stations in the district.

Sucharita, a psychologist who takes personality development sessions for engineering college students, said that suicidal tendencies are a sign of extreme distress and an indicator that someone needs help. Talking about wanting to die by suicide is not a typical response to stress. All talk of suicide should be taken seriously and requires immediate attention. She said a webinar is being organized on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention day to sensitize people about the ill-effects of committing suicides.

In Nandyal town, a few suicides that came to the notice of people were due to financial problems. It was largely due to pressure tactics used by private money lenders, which the borrowers are unable to cope up with, said Subbarayudu, a local resident.