The craze among people to take a perfect selfie has led to an alarming number of deaths in India that can better be called off as death-by-selfie.
Trying to click a perfect selfie to share on social media, people have been crashing cars, getting hit by trains and even falling off cliffs. And the increasing number of accidents and deaths are now being noticed by the government.
According to a Mail Today report, the Centre is planning to introduce a set of measures so as to identify such danger zones at tourist destinations across the nation.
“I have written to all state governments, requesting them to introduce safety precautionary measures and declare 'Selfie Danger Zones' at tourist sites. We are taking up the issue very seriously,” Union Minister Mahesh Sharma was quoted by Mail Today as saying.
“I would urge everyone not to risk their lives for taking selfies at any dangerous location,” he further added.
According to reports, India accounted for more than half of the total number of selfie-related deaths in 2015 worldwide – 15 out of 27.
A Japanese tourist died last year after he slipped on the stairs of Taj Mahal while trying to take a selfie.
Similarly, seven teenagers drowned in a Nagpur lake when they flipped their boat trying to take a selfie.
According to reports, as many as 54 people have died since 2014, out of which 37 have died this year so far.
“For the safety and security for tourists - both domestic and international- we are forming specific guidelines and will ask the state governments and other agencies to demarcate areas (at tourist destinations and historical monuments) which are considered 'risky' for any such activities,” a tourism ministry official said.
The ministry will ask the state governments and Union Territory administrations to put up warning signs at the unsafe points. Moreover, it will provide training to guides and guards deployed at all the sites, which either come under the Ministry of Tourism or the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
“There will be arrangements of emergency medical assistance at all Selfie Danger Zones too,” the official said.
Apart from these, the Ministry of Tourism has also decided to install CCTV cameras to keep an eye on tourists at such unsafe spots.
Several states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra have already deployed tourist police teams at several tourist hotspots.
