Visakhapatnam: Poverty drove many poor persons to die by suicide in Andhra Pradesh in 2022, as per the NCRB report released this week.
The report said 8,908 people, including 2,141 women, ended their lives in AP. Of them 4,532 belonged to families that had one lakh or less income per annum while 3,523 belonged to families that earned between one lakh and five lakh.
Among the dead, 704 people belonged to families earning above five lakh and less than 10 lakh. Some 149 persons belonged to the income group above Rs 10 lakh.
Andhra Pradesh recorded a suicide rate of 16.8 per cent with 8,908 persons ending their lives in 2022, registering an increase of 10.4 per cent compared to 2021, a year that recorded 8,067 suicides, NCRB data has revealed.
The share of Andhra Pradesh in total suicides stood at 5.21 per cent.
“The poorest are most likely to commit suicides. Being in debt or facing a financial crisis, lack of employment, having lower income and homelessness are the main reasons attributed to the suicides,” said experts.
The share of daily wagers among those who die by suicide in AP has crossed the 3,000 mark in 2021 but it has decreased to 2,889 in 2022.
One in three of the total recorded suicide victims during 2021 and 2022 in AP were daily wage earners. Daily wage earners remained the largest profession-wise group among suicide victims in the state in the past two years.
In 2020, 2,501 daily wage earners ended their lives and the number rose to 3,014 in 2021 but slightly decreased to 2,889 in 2022.
“The suicides of daily wage earners have increased after the outbreak of Covid-19. People who have experienced financial stress could face higher risk of attempting suicide than individuals having experienced no financial strain," the report added.
