Increasing craze for capturing selfies leading many to put their own lives at risk has caught the attention of a Parliament panel which has recommended strict penalty to those found engaged in such mania.
The Panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien noted that with the popularisation of smartphones and the social media, the young people in particular and the general public in general are engaged in taking selfies wherever they go.
“As per the recent news reports, many mishaps were occurred at tourists places while people were engaged in taking risky photographs. The Committee notes the steps taken by the Tourism Ministry in discouraging such people.
“The Committee recommends that strict penalty may be imposed if anybody found taking selfie in danger zone area and violating the rule,” said the panel in its report tabled in Parliament recently.
The Tourism Ministry last year had issued a circular to all the States and Union Territories suggesting a string of measures such as marking selfie danger zones, identify all such tourist spots which are prone to accidents, erect signages warning visitors of the danger involved in taking selfies at such locations besides barricading such areas wherever possible danger is identified.
Sources in the Ministry said that the instructions followed a study conducted last year that found that India has witnessed far more selfie deaths than any other country bet-ween March 2014 and September 2016. Of the 127 reported selfie deaths, 76 happened in India, followed by Pakistan, USA and Russia, acc-ording to a study by Carnegie Mellon University in the US.
Titled 'Me, Myself and My Killfie', the research said that while most of the victims were below the age of 24, people died clicking selfies in front of trains, above trains, on mountains and at the sea shore during high tides.