TN Govt Plans To Put Ban On Sale Of Cow Dung Powder To Curb Suicide Attempts

Tamil Nadu has records about 15,000 cases of suicides every year and this is much higher than the number of accidents - 11,000 - that the state records in a year, says the health minister.

TN Health Minister Ma Subramanian (File Picture)

Chennai: Following the rise in the number of suicides in Tamil Nadu, the state health department is planning to pass orders to stop the sales of cow dung powder, a commonly used fertilizer, said Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian on Friday. 

According to a report in Times in India, cow dung powder is a mixture of cow dung with hazardous and toxic chemicals. 

Quoting the health minister, the report said that Tamil Nadu has recorded about 15,000 cases of suicides in a year and this is much higher than the number of accidents - 11,000 - that the state records in a year. 

Subramanian, according to the report, said that about 15% of the people who commit suicide, end their lives by hanging while many others consume rat poison and fertilizers. Pointing out that of late, many have been consuming cow dung powder to end their lives, the minister said that doctors have been finding it difficult to save the lives of the patients who had consumed cow dung powder as it contains both hazardous and toxic chemicals, as per the report. 

The minister further said that the state government would work with the agriculture department to bring in rules that would prevent sales of fertilizers to individuals, according to the report. 

Meanwhile, speaking about the state government’s move to council students who had appeared for the NEET recently, the minister said that the health department has reached out to more than 10,000 candidates and counsellors are talking both to the students and their parents, the report added.