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