Dang in Gujarat makes clicking selfies a criminal offense
Clicking selfies has been made a criminal offense in Gujarat's Dang district in a bid to check accidents due to such activities, officials said on Tuesday. If people are caught taking selfies in Dang, action could be taken against them under criminal offense provisions, district's Resident Additional Collector TD Damor said. Dang is popular among tourists for its picturesque hill station Saputara and waterfalls.
Restrictions on selfies have been in place since 2-3 years
Damor said that these kinds of restrictions have been in place in Dang for the last two to three years and they have now been extended through a fresh notification issued earlier this month. "The aim behind the decision is to stop accidents which claimed lives of some people in the past and also injured many," he further added.
Several people have died because of clicking selfies: Damor
"People, especially youngsters, in their attempt to click a good selfie, can go to any extent. Many cases of people falling into a gorge or being swept away in water current were recorded in the past. In some cases, people also died," Damor said.
Hoardings and billboards have been put up to warn tourists
The official said the district administration has put up hoardings and billboards at various tourist places, warning visitors of the dangers of taking selfies there. In July 2018, a man died after falling into a gorge in Saputara while taking a selfie. Besides, a person drowned in the Gira waterfalls located nearby while clicking a selfie in August 2018, as per reports.
Statistics show India has witnessed maximum selfie deaths since 2011
According to a study by the US National Library of Medicine, between 2011 and 2017, 259 deaths were reported while people were taking selfies, and about half of them were from India. From October 2011 to November 2017, 259 deaths happened in 137 incidents. The mean age was 22.94 years. About 72.5 percent of deaths occurred in males and 27.5 percent in females.
Russia has registered second highest selfie deaths
The highest number of incidents and selfie deaths have been reported in India, followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan. Drowning, transport, and fall form the topmost reasons for deaths caused by selfies. "We also classified reasons for deaths due to selfies as risky behavior or non-risky behavior. Risky behavior caused more deaths and incidents due to selfies than non-risky behavior," the institution said.
