The eighth edition of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) i.e. for 2021 is out and is primarily focussed this time is on accidental deaths/injuries, traffic-related deaths/injuries and suicides.
It is satisfying to know that in 2021, the statistics of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir vis-à-vis these three parameters are on the lower rather than higher side when compared with other states. The UT of Ladakh, however, is a cause for concern.
On a national scale, in the accidental death category, the maximum casualties were found to be in the age group of 30 and 45, i.e. 1, 22,943 deaths, or 30.9 percent. This was followed by persons in the age group of 18 to 30 years, i.e. 1, 01,224 deaths, or 25.5 percent.
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh figured quite low in this list, recording 1,386 and 153 deaths respectively.
Maharashtra, on the other hand, reported the highest number of accidental deaths at 58,242, or 14.7 percent of the country’s total accidental deaths. Madhya Pradesh reported 40,510 accidental deaths, or 10.2 percent of total accidental deaths, while India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, reported 36,521 deaths; or 9.2 percent of total accidental deaths in the country. Tamil Nadu (28, 286, or 7.1 percent), Karnataka (25, 278, or 6.4 percent) and Rajasthan (23, 197, or 5.8 percent) were some of the other states reporting substantially high accidental deaths.
In the category of states/UTs reporting higher rates of accidental deaths as compared to the all India average of 29.1 deaths per one lakh of population, J&K was listed second from the bottom out of 34 states/UTs, reporting 3.3 deaths per one lakh of population. Ladakh was, however, alarmingly ranked fifth in this list, reporting 51 deaths per one lakh of population. Chhattisgarh reported the highest rate of accidental deaths (59.2 per one lakh population) followed by Puducherry (58), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (52.5) and Haryana (52.3) as against the national average already mentioned above (29.1).
Gender-wise percentage analysis revealed that in J&K 10.30 percent women and men were accidental deaths victims, whereas in Ladakh it was a very worrisome 51 percent. Chhattisgarh (59.20 percent), Puducherry (58 percent) and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (52.5 percent) occupied the first three positions of gender-wise accidental victims. The overall national average for males and females was 81.6 percent and 18.4 percent respectively.
In accidents caused due to forces of nature, India reported a total of 7,126 deaths in 2021, of which 40.4 percent or 2, 880 were caused by lightning, 9.2 percent or 656 by floods and 8.7 percent or 618 due to exposure to cold weather. Other major forces of nature causing deaths included landslides, heat/sun stroke and cyclones. Nearly 60 percent of these deaths were of people in the age-group of above 60 years.
State and UT-wise categorisation of these deaths revealed that in J&K and Ladakh 52 and 63 persons respectively had died in accidents caused by forces of nature. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest deaths caused by lightning (496), followed by Odisha (287), Bihar (286), Jharkhand (254) and Maharashtra (238). About 533 (7.5 percent) of the total 7,126 force of nature deaths were reported to have taken place in 53 mega cities.
As per age-wise classification, 7.2 percent of these victims were below 14 years of age (514), 5.1 percent were in the age group of 14 to 18 (362), 16.7 percent were in the aged between 18 and 30 (1,187), 24 percent were aged between 30 and 45 (1,708) and 20.2 percent were aged between 45 and 60 (1,437). Senior citizens (60 years and above) constituted 26.9 percent (1,918 deaths) of such victims during 2021.
Of the total 6, 38,691 accidents due to other causes in 2021, 3, 90,404 victims died, while 3, 77,070 were injured. As per NCRB data, J&K and Ladakh reported 1, 334 and 90 such deaths respectively last year. The Male Vs Female ratio in such fatalities was pegged at 81.6 percent is to 18.4 percent. Major causes of accidental deaths were (1) Traffic Accidents (44.5 percent), (2) Sudden Deaths (13 percent), (3) Drowning (9.3 percent), (4) Poisoning’ (six percent), (5) Falls (5.5 percent) and (6) Accidental Fire (2.1 percent). The majority (57.1 percent) of deaths in accidents due to other causes was in the age group of 30-45 years (31.1 percent) and 18-30 years (26.1 percent) together.
J&K and Ladakh registered three and two deaths in gender-wise distribution of accidental deaths due to forces of nature during 2021 (State & UT-wise). There were no deaths due to tsunami, earthquake, tornadoes, epidemics, floods, heat/sun stroke, lightning, forest fires, air crash, ship and torrential rains. However, four deaths were caused by landslides (two) and collapsed structure (2) in J&K. Ladakh reported one death from a collapsed structure. Both UTs reported one death each from residential building collapses.
No dam site or commercial building or bridge collapse deaths were reported in J&K or Ladakh in 2021. Thirty deaths by drowning were reported in J&K, while three deaths were reported in Ladakh. Thirteen accidental deaths at water body sites were reported in J&K in 2021, while Ladakh did not report any. There were 17 and three cases of drowning in other cases reported in J&K and Ladakh last year. Nineteen people died from electrocution, while two died in accidental explosions in J&K. One death each was reported separately due to a gas cylinder explosion and an ammunition explosion in armed forces/police/CPMF). Forty five and eleven people died in J&K and Ladakh respectively due to falls last year. Three and two persons died in J&K and Ladakh respectively due to factory and or machine accidents.
Eighty eight and eight people died in J&K and Ladakh respectively due to accidental fires. J&K also reported two firearm deaths. There were no mine and quarry deaths in both UTs.
Insofar as traffic accidents were concerned, the number increased from 3, 68,828 in 2020 to 4, 22, 659 in 2021. The rate of deaths in road accidents per thousand vehicles also increased from 0.45 in 2020 to 0.53 in 2021). Maximum increase in number of traffic accidents cases were found in Tamil Nadu (from 46,443 to 57,090), Madhya Pradesh (from 43,360 to 49,493), Uttar Pradesh (from 30,593 to 36,509), Maharashtra (from 24,908 to 30,086).
J&K and Ladakh respectively reported 5424 and 237 cases. The number of persons who were injured in such accidents was 6, 856, while the death toll was 826 in J&K. In Ladakh, the figure was 291 injured, 56 dead. A large portion of these accidents occurred on roads, with 804 reported in J&K alone.
There were 15 railway accidents and seven railway crossing accidents in J&K (15 deaths) and none in Ladakh. There were 78 sudden death cases in J&K (32 due to heart attack and 46 due to other causes) and none in Ladakh. There was no pregnancy deaths reported from either of the two UTs last year. Nine deaths were reported in J&K due to consumption of illicit/spurious liquor and there were none in Ladakh. One death occurred in J&K due to an animal attack. Eighty six people died of poisoning in J&K, while two died in Ladakh. Neither UT reported deaths by food poisoning. However, 28 deaths occurred due to consumption of pesticides or insecticides. J&K reported 32 deaths due to exposure to poison gases, while Ladakh reported two. Other forms of poisoning claimed 26 lives in J&K.
Every year, more than 100,000 people commit suicide in India. Factors cited for taking this fatal step include professional/career problems, sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss, chronic pain etc. The NCRB collects data on suicides from police recorded suicide cases.
A total of 1, 64,033 suicides were reported in the country in 2021, showing an increase of 7.2 percent in comparison to 2020. The rate of suicides also showed an increase of 6.2 percent for the same period.
J&K reported 247 suicides in 2021, while Ladakh reported 11. The majority of suicides were reported in Maharashtra (22,207) followed by Tamil Nadu (18,925), Madhya Pradesh (14,965), West Bengal (13,500) and Karnataka (13,056). These five states accounted for 50.4 percent of the total suicides reported in India in 2021. The remaining 49.6 percent suicides were reported in the remaining 23 states and 8 UTs.