In hooch deaths, Punjab second only to UP: NCRB data

As per the report, 737 peoeple died in 747 incidents of drug overdose reported across the country. With 78 fatalities, Punjab recorded third highest number of deaths due to drugs overdose after Tamil Nadu (250) and Rajasthan (113). Manipur and Madhya Pradesh were at fourth and fifth place with 36 and 34 deaths, respectively.

The agrarian Punjab is also among top five states in terms of deaths due to accidental intake of insecticides/pesticides. It reported 786 deaths in the category, compared to 750 in neighbouring Haryana. Madhya Pradesh recorded maximum such deaths (1,466), followed by Rajasthan (981) and Karnataka (920). There were total 7,950 cases of accidental intake of insecticides/pesticides across the country, in which 7,805 persons died.

As per the report, Punjab was also among very few states where road accidents caused more deaths compared to people injured. The NCRB report reads, “As many as 4,03,116 road accidents caused 1,55,622 deaths and injuries to 3,71,884 people during 2021. Generally, road accidents have caused more injuries than deaths, but in Mizoram, Punjab, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, road accidents caused more deaths compared to people injured. In Mizoram, 64 road accidents caused 64 deaths and 28 people were injured. In Punjab, 6,097 road accidents caused 4,516 deaths and 3,034 people were injured. In Jharkhand, 4,728 road accidents caused 3,513 deaths and 3,227 injuries and in Uttar Pradesh, 33,711 road accidents caused 21,792 deaths and 19,813 injuries.”

Punjab also recorded 8.1 per cent rate of suicides against the national average of 12 per cent. As many as 1,164 people ended their lives due to illness in Punjab, the highest in the country in terms of percentage share (44.8).