11 people end their lives every hour

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">NEW DELHI: As you flip through the pages of your newspaper over the next one hour, at least 11 people would have committed suicide in some corner or other of the country.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">While some may be compelled by financial debt or mental harassment to take the extreme step, for others the pain - and cost - of a prolonged illness may have become too much to bear.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Every day, at least 300 persons in India commit suicide - in most cases, by hanging, or by consuming pesticide or other poisonous substances.According to home ministry sources, the number of suicides during 2001 was 1,08,506; in 2002, it rose to 1,10,417. In 2003, 1,10,851 people decided to end their lives.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">These figures are just a grim indicator of the real situation - considering they are based on police records. How many cases go unreported is left to conjecture. Sources point out that the situation is alarming, since the rate of suicide (number of suicides per one lakh population) has been static at around 10.5 for about last four years.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">While the primary reported reason for committing suicides has been financial pressure, arising out of failure in business, agriculture and share markets, a significant number of deaths were those of frustrated youths driven to end their lives due to unemployment.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Marital disputes, depression due to divorce, family problems, and the frustration of meeting expenses relating to prolonged illness have also contributed to the statistics to a great extent. Senior officials of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) point out that though the victims come from various backgrounds, most are primarily farmers.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Driven by pangs of hunger, mounting indebtedness and threats of moneylenders, these farmers are mostly from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and even Punjab.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Unlike earlier - when seeds could be saved for use in following years - farmers now have to buy fresh seeds every year. The ensuing economic pressure has increased debts. And as debts increase and become unpayable, farmers have been compelled - in some cases - to sell kidneys or even commit suicide.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Bad debts were once again the primary reason of suicide in Maharashtra, which has witnessed the maximum number of cases. The main reason for suicides in the urban areas is growing desperation among individuals who are unable cater to the increasing need of their families due to the high cost of living, or unemployment. Others are domestic issues, especially marital infidelity and financial problems.</span></div> </div>