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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...

Most suicides in India were by hanging

HANGING was the most favourite mode adopted by suicide victims in India as 51.5 per cent victims ended their lives by hanging themselves. More suicide victims are leaning towards this mode as such cases increased by 0.7 per cent in year 2018 as against 49.8 per cent in 2017. 
The shocking revelation came to fore in data released by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) for year 2018. According to statistics, Indians are adopting hanging, poisoning, jumping methods more for suicide which are easily available and effective mode of suicide than painful means such as self-inflicted injuries. 
A total of 26.7 per cent persons had committed suicide by consuming poison in year 2018 as against 27.5 per cent in 2017. It showing declined trend among the Indians. As many as 4.9 per cent victims adopted drowning as mode of suicide while 4.4 per cent adopted self immolation and jumping by 1.9  per cent victims. 
The number of male victims were more than females in all means of suicide except those who committed suicides by self immolation where share of female victims was more - 3,809 out of 5,950.
A total of 53 mega cities having population more than 10 lakh or more show an increasing trend of suicide during 2015 to 2018. It increased by 6.2 per cent (from 19,665 in 2015 to 20,879 in 2016) and increased by 1.8 per cent (from 20,879 in 2016 to 21,240 in 2017). It increased by 0.8 per cent (from 21,240 in 2017 to 21,408 in 2018).
A total of 64 cases of mass or family suicides were registered during the year 2018. In these 64 cases of mass or family suicides, a total of 173 persons, comprising of 119 married persons and 54 unmarried persons, have committed suicides during 2018. Maximum cases of mass or family suicides were reported Tamil Nadu (15 cases) followed by Andhra Pradesh (11 cases), Madhya Pradesh (9), Punjab and  Rajasthan (6 cases each) and Kerala (5 cases) during 2017. A total 35 persons in Tamil Nadu, 26 persons in Andhra Pradesh, 24 persons in Kerala and 22 persons in Uttarakhand have committed mass or family suicides during 2018.

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