In 2022, more drug, alcohol addicts took own life in Haryana than Punjab

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, December 5

With cases of addiction on the rise in Haryana, the state saw higher number of suicides due to drug abuse/alcohol addiction in comparison with Punjab in 2022.

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The state witnessed 73 such cases, while neighbouring Punjab recorded 54 and Himachal Pradesh 26, including a woman, according to the Accident Deaths and Suicides in India 2022 report. In 2021, Haryana saw 89 suicides due to drug abuse/alcohol addiction, while the figure was 78 in Punjab and 30 in HP.

Overall, Haryana witnessed 3,783 suicides, including 3,073 by males, 709 by females, and one by a transgender, signalling a rise of 2.5% from 2021 when 3,692 people had taken their lives.

At 12.6, suicide rate i.e. cases per lakh population in the state is also higher than in Punjab (8) and HP (8.7) in 2022. Of the total suicide victims, 2,304 were earning less than Rs 1 lakh per annum. This constitutes 60.9% of the total suicides. There were 1,225 victims (32.4%) earning between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

As many as 699 victims were daily wage earners, including 677 males and 22 females, with a rise of 30.7% over 2021. They comprise 18.5% of the total cases in the state. Also, 265 of the victims were farm labourers, including 12 women, signalling a rise of 24.4% from 2021, when 213 took their lives. A total of 288 suicide victims were unemployed, including 23 women, which is a dip from 2021 when 353 killed themselves.

In 2022, there were 500 suicides due to mental illness, 302 over prolonged illness and 450 due to family problems. There were nine suicides due to extramarital affairs, 36 over failure in exams and 36 due to love affairs.

Twenty-nine people died by suicide due to unemployment and poverty has been cited as a reason in 17 cases.