With at least two suicide cases reported in Churachandpur district over the last four days where two youths, 23 years and 28 years respectively, taking their lives hanging, the case of suicide in the district is alarming.
No one knows why the two took their lives as there were no suicide notes, it is widely expected that the two took the extreme steps as they could be having trauma and anxiety.
Though Churachandpur town occupies a small area in the context of the country, it has recorded 16 suicide cases this year alone, as per Nest Lamka. Moreover, over the last decade, the district has registered 176 cases which is about 17.6 persons per year or a little over one person per month.
Nest Lamka, in its Lamka Suiside Servey, also found that the suicide cases include 138 males and 38 females, mostly between 19-40 years of age; this age group accounted for 65.9 percent of the cases with the rest being above or below.
Nest Lamka also recorded that since 2023 people over 40 years are found to be affected by this suicidal tendency which may be due to their deprivation of livelihood, use of drugs and family discords.
The Nest Lamka, a home-grown, community-owned, non-profit organisation based in Lamka town of Churachandpur district, Manipur was founded as a youth group in 2017 and registered in 2019 under the Manipur Societies Registration Act, 1989. It is a youth-led organization governed by an 11-member Governing Board elected every three years that engages in areas such as mental health, storytelling, grassroots education, community health, etc.
Between 2014-24, Nest Lamka surveyed 33 cemeteries of over 50 villages and also visited the interior village/Zo-don Villages and compiled their findings which were recorded and made known to the public while they also organised such programmes during the World Suiside Prevention Day held on 10th September every year.
