SHAKEELA ANDRABI
Srinagar: Rising suicide trend in Kashmir has emerged as one of the biggest challenge for the whole society.
During past two months suicide has becoming a very serious and urgent issue as young people, women and even children are choosing death over the precious blessing of life.
In the first 3 months of 2021, a number of people have ended their lives by choosing the way of suicide but now from last three months, every 2nd day, 2 to 3 young people are trying to end their lives by hanging, jumping into water bodies, or by consuming poisonous substances.
While trying to get actual official data about the suicidal attempts and suicides in Kashmir valley which is now at its highest peak, the STATE TIMES reporter contacted IGP Kashmir office, but official on duty said that CPO is the authority to provide the complete details of the matter. The official at CPO office, when contacted on phones first denied to provide the data, and also asked for IGP’s consent. Even after all this exercise, no date was provided.
Political leaders and socio-religious organisations Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) have also expressed grave concern over the spike in suicide cases in Jammu & Kashmir.
They said, “It is tragic and a bitter fact that in Jammu and Kashmir, the social backwardness, usage of drugs, domestic violence, family disputes, increase in divorce rate, and above all, the rising graph of suicides is a cause of great pain and anguish for every conscious human being.”
They appealed to all religious and reformist organisations, scholars, preachers, Imams, teachers, parents, conscious citizens and civil society members to play their role in this regard. They also appealed to people, especially the youth and women, to launch a comprehensive awareness campaign to rid the Kashmiri society of these serious problems.
Recently, in last week of May month 2021, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHBA) Srinagar expressed deep concern over the increase in suicide by young generation in Kashmir valley. In a statement issued, the JKHBA Srinagar members said that every day there are reports about suicides and not only this many suicide attempts were being foiled either by locals or alert policemen.
The association said that there is need to know the major cause behind suicides, which is emerging as a major concern among parents.
Medical and psychiatric experts believe that the main cause of suicide deaths and suicide attempts, is financial stress, domestic violence and evils of drug.
JKHCBA appealed to the people who has good source of income and charity institutions particularly to take care of distressed families
In fact, people in Kashmir, to a large extent, had already been facing mental health issues due to numerous reasons like turmoil and drug menace, various social evils, and many more things. However, the situation created by the pandemic has added to the miseries, which can also be a major reason behind increasing suicides.
Commissioner Food and Drug Administration (F&DA) hold a meeting regarding measures to be taken in coming days, and asked all stakeholders to come forward for eradicating the menace of drug abuse, besides guiding the general masses especially youth to abstain from such habits.
Youth Clubs are being established in every Panchayat across Jammu and Kashmir for constructive activities and addressing all the concerns of young generation, besides a component of Rs 10 crore for Drug De-addiction/rehabilitation centres has also been kept in this year’s budget.
Not only administration, but parents and teachers should come for saving young generation from drug menace.
The Lt Governor also called upon the community elders, religious & spiritual heads, media to be the torch-bearers in spreading the message that ‘Drug abuse has no place in any civilized society’ because it leads to death and nothing more than that.