Worrying social problems
The Himalayan Times
12 September 2019
Worrying
social problems
People are worried by the
increasing number of suicide cases in the country. Little effort is being made
by the concerned department of the government to address this burning social issue.
Worrying and talking about this burning issue is one thing, however, unless
necessary and appropriate measures are taken, the number of suicide cases in
Nepal will continue to rise. Nepal is among the top 10 suicide-prone countries
in the world and ranks seventh in terms of suicide cases.
Suicide is an act of taking one’s
own life which is very painful for the family members, relatives and friends.
It is not see or know what a person is feeling inside. So, it may not be always
easy to identify when someone is having suicidal thoughts.
There can be several reasons someone decides to take his or her own life. For
this, I think, timely identification of the reasons and appropriate treatment
may be helpful in preventing suicide. It was wonderful to read Dr. Ajay
Rishal’s article “Growing suicides” (THT, September 10, Page 8) who has highlighted
how to tackle this social problem very well.
I am not an expert to comment on this
acute social problem. However, I was fortunate to work as a short term
consultant in a research project about pesticide poisoning and suicide
prevention in Nepal. Hanging is the number one means of committing suicide
followed by pesticide poisoning. It was good to know that the government has
officially banned 21 highly toxic pesticides. However, there are still two
toxic pesticides, namely zink phosphide and aluminum phosphide which are easily
accessible and available in the market and are being used to commit suicide. Strict
supervision and monitoring and raising awareness of the people should be
urgently initiated by the concerned authority to reduce suicide cases by
poisoning in the coming days.
Rai
Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj
