MITHI: Speakers at a programme expressed serious concerns over increasing number of suicide incidents in Tharparkar and Umerkot districts and said longstanding depression often led the sufferers to suicide.

They said that children were badly affected by depression but parents often ignored its initial signs at home.

They were speaking at a programme organised by Tharparkar police in collaboration with Umeed Ghar, a social organisation, here on Sunday morning.

Tharparkar deputy commissioner Laal Dino Mangi said that people were undergoing unbearable stress for multiple reasons that had led to unexpected surge in suicide incidents.

SSP Abid Baloch said that there were various reasons that triggered and deepened depression in people and some of the reasons were; love affair, financial crises and domestic issues.

He said that the debtors who were unable to pay huge interest on their loads also took the extreme step. The government should hold open kachehreis to resolve peoples’ issues and take measures for creating mass awareness against this evil, he said.

He said that doctors should be trained to deal with suicide cases and post mortem of suicide victims. Usurers should also be taken to task, he said. 

He disclosed that as many as 127 cases of suicide were reported in Thar in 2022 while 15 cases had been reported so far this year. Excessive consumption of liquor and other intoxicating substances also caused depression, he said.

The speakers were of the view that the social and electronic media should be used to spread information about handling of suicide incidents news and civil society and concerned authorities should play their role in curbing the ratio of suicide.

Social activist Kashif Bajeer said that child marriage was also a major reason behind stress among adults. Police should take immediate action on complaints about child marriage, he said.

He said that seminars should be organised in educational institutes to further evaluate the causes behind this menace.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2023