A dozen people, including four members of a family and a couple, have committed suicide in Kavre over the past two weeks.

According to the District Police Office data, four members of a family, those committing suicide in the district were from the age group of 17-62 years. “We started registering daily data on suicide a fortnight ago,” said Superintendent of Police Sahakul Bahadur Thapa.

The number of suicides in the district has been growing each year, with the district-based statistics office suggesting a total of 699 reported cases of suicide between 2007 and 2016.

Psychologists pointed out illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and frustration, among other factors, pushing people to end their own life. They also remarked domestic violence as another leading cause that drive people to take the extreme measure.

The majority of the reported suicide cases are of people from the age group of 20-40 years. This age group commit suicide as most of them are in the state of indecision and immature, according to psychologists.

The easy availability of pesticides in local stores is one of the reasons why people with the tendency of suicide has been increasing.

Dr Ajaya Risal, assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry in Dhulikhel Hospital, said that people commit suicide due to psychosocial and social problems. “People think about suicide during depression, alcoholism, financial problems and deaths of someone close to them,” said Dr Risal.

Meanwhile, the District Police Office has decided to launch an awareness programme against suicide and its consequences in all 13 local units of the district.