Mumbai cracking down on selfies to avoid ‘mishaps’
Call it a new battleground in the war on selfies — the Indian city of Mumbai is launching police patrols to prevent photo-related fatalities.
The move follows a string of incidents that have made India a world leader in deaths by selfie.
Police say they’ve pinpointed locations around the Mumbai where they want to “restrain” people to prevent further casualties.
“This is a new problem for us,” police spokesman Dhananjay Kulkarni tells CNN. “We have identified spots in Mumbai. We want to restrain people from going there so that mishaps don’t happen.”
Statistics released earlier this year put India top of the list for self-related deaths.
Of 49 fatalities over three years worldwide, India accounted for 19 — nearly 40% of the global total.
In January, a teenager in the city of Chennai was reportedly struck and killed while grabbing a snap in front of an oncoming train.
Warning signs
In Mumbai, the high risk areas are mostly along the city’s oceanfront — a popular destination for young people armed with camera phones.
Local media reports two teenagers drowned to death on Tuesday while clicking selfies during a picnic in Bhiwandi, just outside of Mumbai.
Kulkarni says while some of these areas have yet to be identified, officers are already taking action in high risk locations.
“We have deployed our policeman in those areas and we are asking the [city council] to put up warning signs,” he adds.
“We are also requesting them to deploy lifeguards in the area to save people.”
The move follows other efforts to restrict the use of selfie sticks in popular tourism destinations around the planet where their increasing ubiquity can cause annoyance as well accidents.
Venues such as the Louvre in Paris have recently joined theme parks such as Disneyland in imposing bans.
