KATHMANDU, June 19 (Xinhua) -- With the rise in mental health problems and massive internet penetration, nearly 15 people commit suicide in Nepal every day, according to the statistics of Nepal Police.
The statistics shared by Nepal Police in its website claims that at least 5,317 people committed suicide in the fiscal year 2017-18. Among them, there were 2,854 males, 2,242 females and the rest of them are children.
Around 4,000 suicide cases have already been registered in the current fiscal year across the country, while many cases go unreported by the families to avoid legal problems and due to mental health related stigma.
According to the statistics, the number of suicide cases was 5,124 in fiscal year 2016-17, whereas 4,680 people killed themselves in fiscal year 2015-16. The ratio suggests that 12 to 15 people commit suicide in this south Asian country every day.
Spokesperson for Nepal Police and Deputy Inspector General Bishwa Raj Pokharel told media on Tuesday "Social media, which has emerged in the form of new technology, and its misuse has been one of the major causes behind increasing suicides."
Their data claims that at least 24 percent people took their lives due to anxiety led by technology in the previous year. As of 2017, the internet penetration was 63 percent of the total population of the country.
Similarly, 15 percent of suicide cases were due to mental health problems, while poverty, family tensions, failure in relationships, financial issues, loss in business are some of the other causes.
Police officials informed that hanging is the most common method of suicide among Nepali people followed by poisoning, jumping, self electrocution and drowning in rivers or lakes.
Suicide is also the leading cause of death among Nepali people followed by road accidents, which take the lives of 7 persons every day in average.
According to health professionals, suicide rates have gone up in Nepal with the increase in the number of people suffering from mental health issues.
According to Dr Sudarshan Narsingh Pradhan, Professor from Kathmandu Medical College, 60 to 70 percent of suicide cases are due to depression. In Nepal, depression is more common in women than men.
"Besides depression, other reasons include adjustment disorder, schizophrenia, and use of drugs and alcohol. Most of the people commit suicides in failure to cope with stress, which we call an impulsive act," Dr Pradhan shared with Xinhua.
Pradhan, who has an experience of 24 years in this profession, said that he has handled around 150 cases of suicide attempts in one single year.
"Over 90 percent of suicide cases are pre-planned by the person as there is a pattern of writing suicide notes prior or expressing about the plan with others. That's why we say suicide is preventable, but we have not been able to work towards it."
