Increasing suicide rate in Thar!

Ali Akbar Rahimoo

Thar is about to facing third drought year in its continuity and the human development indicators are going down day by day. Increasing poverty, inflation, lack of livelihood opportunities, migration, perishing livestock are consequences of droughts. The Sindh Govt had been denying the facts and blaming the media but there was no serious effort from different stakeholders to gauge the affect of droughts, its nature and intensity and in the result media versus Sindh Govt the issue was mingled; some times denied and on some occasions delayed.
AWARE has conducted research and learnt that drought has affected lives of Thari people and the socio-economic indicators are very poor; poverty is increased and people are committing suicide. Only in fits 7 months of 2014, till July 2014 there were 31 suicide cases recorded in Tharparkar District. The major reasons found are; poverty and domestic violence caused due to inadequate resources and knowledge. Among the recorded suicide cases; 10 are men, 18 women and 3 are children. This is more painful that two women committed suicide along with their children. Although in the previous year 2013, there were 29 cases were recorded.
Sindh Government always denied that people are being dying not by drought situation but the cause is illness and suffering from diseases, but this is a big question to government why people are committing suicide in Tharparkar? May be this is not on the priority of ruler?



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