Selfie is a term that describes a picture taken by people on their own. Clicking selfies came into trend in early 2015. Since then, it has become quite normal for people to post pictures taken by themselves on social media. Some life-taking incidents also came to light because of this new normal. People who were found taking selfies at high altitudes lost their lives also while doing so. Many places came up with a ban on clicking selfies and the latest in the addition is Gujarat.
Gujarat’s Dang has recently proposed a strict rule regarding selfies. Clicking selfies at any tourist location in Gujarat’s Dang district has now been prohibited and if any citizen fails to follow the rule then they have to pay the penalty.
Citizens will have to pay a fine of Rs 200 or serve a jail term of 1 month if they violate the rule and found clicking selfies in Gujarat’s only hill station, Saputara.
While talking to a leading daily, officials stated that there have been numerous incidents that happened while taking selfies and people lost their lives by slipping from the dangerous locations of the hill or river. They further added that the reason for making the location a ‘no selfie’ zone is just to prevent such incidents at the hill in near future.
Saputara is surrounded by hills and waterfalls. Not only it attracts the people from Gujarat but also people from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan visit the serene location to experience the beauty of nature and finding peace.
The hill attracts tourists majorly in the monsoon season and thousands of people visit the location in the season.
The notification released by officials read, “The violator may serve a jail for a month or a fine of up to Rs 200 can be imposed.” The action would be taken under section 188 or IPC (Indian Penal Code) if people found taking pictures and selfies.
Various warnings of the dangers regarding taking selfies have already been set up at many tourist locations by district administration through the use of billboards and hoarding
Dang’s Deputy SP Jagdish Vasava said, “The whole Dang district has been announced as a restricted area and Saputara has been declared as a notified area.”
The decision comes as a protective measure to save the lives of locals as well as tourists visiting the hilly area.