Goa beaches set up ‘no selfie’ zones

Updated: Jun 22, 2018

The sign boards are being upgraded with pictorial instructions on flags, an emergency toll free number and dos and don’ts while visiting the beaches of Goa.

The aim of setting up no selfie zones is to reduce the number of accidents caused by falls from slippery and rocky areas along the Goa coastline, which incidentally also provide a vantage point for selfie and photography enthusiasts.

Amid a spate of deaths by drowning and accidents along Goa’s coastline, the state’s popular beaches have set up “no selfie” zones, an official said on Friday.

The aim is to reduce the number of accidents caused by falls from slippery and rocky areas along the coastline, which incidentally also provide a vantage point for selfie and photography enthusiasts, Ravi Shankar, CEO Drishti Marine, a state government-appointed private lifeguard agency manning the state’s beaches and other water bodies, told IANS.

“The 24 unsafe selfie points with signages which have been identified are located near Baga River, Dona Paula Jetty, Sinquerim Fort, Anjuna, Vagator, Morjim, Ashwem, Arambol, Kerim and between Bambolim and Siridao (all beaches) in North Goa. In South Goa, the signs have been placed at Agonda, Bogmalo, Hollant, Baina, Japanese Garden, Betul, Canaguinim, Palolem, Khola, Cabo De Rama, Polem, Galgibagh, Talpona and Rajbagh (all beaches),” Shankar said.

“Further, signage boards are being upgraded with pictorial instructions on flags, an emergency toll free number and dos and don’ts while visiting the beaches of Goa,” he added.

On June 17, two tourists from Tamil Nadu died in two separate incidents while posing for selfies. The incident, tourism ministry officials say, expedited the process for setting up the “no selfie” zones.Goa’s beaches attract more than six million tourists every year.