'32,563 daily wagers, 10,281 in farming sector killed self in 2019'

New Delhi: Nearly 43,000 people engaged in the farming sector and daily wage earners committed suicide in 2019, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

As many as 32,563 daily wage earners ended their lives during the year and formed 23.4 per cent of the total suicide cases in the country, up from 30,132 in 2018, the data showed.

As many as 10,281 people involved in farming sector (consisting of 5,957 farmers or cultivators and 4,324 agricultural labourers) killed themselves in 2019, accounting for 7.4 per cent of total suicide victims (1,39,123) in the country, it stated.

The suicide figures for people engaged in the farming sector stood at 10,349 (7.7 per cent) of the total in 2018, previous data showed.

Out of 5,957 farmer or cultivator suicides in 2019, a total of 5,563 were male and 394 female. Out of the 4,324 suicides committed by agricultural labourers during 2019, 3,749 were male and 575 were female, the NCRB, which functions under the Union Home ministry, stated.

Majority of victims engaged in the farming sector were reported in Maharashtra (38.2 per cent), Karnataka (19.4 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (10 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (5.3 per cent) and Chhattisgarh and Telangana (4.9 per cent each), the data showed.

However, the NCRB stated that West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi UT, Lakshadweep and Puducherry reported zero suicides of farmers or cultivators as well as agricultural labourers.

The country also reported an average of 381 suicides daily in 2019, totalling 1,39,123 fatalities over the year.

Thirty-six security personnel under the command of the Union Home ministry committed suicide in 2019, taking the number of such cases to 433 in six years, according to the latest NCRB data.

Of the 433 suicide deaths among the CAPF personnel during the six years, the least (28) number of cases was reported in 2018 and the maximum (175) in 2014.