Under lockdown, deaths fall by 55% in Madurai corporation

MADURAI: Deserted roads and crowded households seem to have had a telling effect on the longevity of people, if Madurai corporation’s figures on deaths are anything to go by. The number of people who died in the corporation limits in April has come down by 55% compared to that in the same month last year.
While 563 men and 368 women died in April 2019, only 246 men and 177 women died last month. While the obvious reason for this dramatic fall could be the corresponding dip in road accidents during the lockdown, officials point out that the city witnessed lesser number of suicides and murders too.
Madurai city police commissioner S Davidson Devasirvatham points out that Madurai used to witness two to three suicides a day, but this has come down significantly. According to him, the city witnesses 15 to 20 deaths due to road accidents a month, but that had shrunk to single digit.
Dr C Ramasubramanian, a mental health expert, says that depression increases in a person when he sees others achieving excellence which he could not. With the whole environment in a ‘depressed’ state now due to Covid-19, few would feel lonely. Moreover, a person is now surrounded by his family members who are readily available to lend a ear to him. He said that the non-availability of alcohol could also be a reason behind the lesser number of deaths as alcohol brings out repressed anger, reduces tolerance levels and breaks inhibitions.
Nandini Murali, director of Speak, a suicide prevention initiative from MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Prevention, said, “Suicide number may have come down, but it may spike in coming days due to various pressures including financial. We have to concentrate on prevention once lockdown is eased.”