City turning into suicide capital

 Software professionals may be flocking to Bangalore, but the metro has earned the dubious distinction of seeing the highest number of suicides by the jobless and poor in the country.

The underbelly of the dazzling city that is home to high-profile software companies and a population of over 10 lakh shows a disturbing trend compared to 53 other metropolitan cities. The number of suicides due to unemployment in Bangalore in 2013 has almost doubled compared to that of 2011, while suicides owing to poverty have quadrupled.

According to the recently-published “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2012” report, 89 people ended their lives in Bangalore due to unemployment last year, while in 2011 the figure was 47. The number of women who committed suicide has risen from a meagre four to 15.

The figures for 2010 — 52 people were in the list, of which nine were women — also show that the number for Bangalore was not as high as last year. 

A total of 456 people, including 46 women, committed suicide due to unemployment last year across the country.

A comparison with other metros shows that Bangalore is way ahead: Delhi recorded 70 cases and Mumbai 46 in 2012. Chennai, which registered 77 such incidents in 2011, had just seven last year.

An analysis of the figures also showed that Bangalore accounted for more than 50 per cent of suicides by jobless in Karnataka, which had 166 cases. Though Maharashtra had 258 such cases, its capital Mumbai saw just 46 such cases. Bangalore also accounted for more than 50 per cent of suicides due to poverty among metro cities, with 123 cases out of the total 214.

Of the 54 women who  ended their lives due to financial conditions, 40 were from the silicon capital.

Delhi, the national capital, was way behind, with 35 cases, and Mumbai and Vishakhapattanam saw 12 each.

The report shows that the number of suicides due to poverty grew four times in 2012 compared to 2011's figures of 29, including 16 women, which was even lower than the 52 in 2010.Though unemployment and poverty-related suicides are on a high trajectory— the number of suicides due to career problems and professional harassment is less.

Bangalore has registered only five such cases, including that of two women, last year — down from 19 in 2011 and 17 in 2010.

Mumbai last year registered 28 such cases out of a total of 186, while Coimbatore and Jabalpur had 10 each.