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Mumbai Creates No Selfie Zones


n this Feb. 22, 2016, photo, an Indian man takes a selfie in Mumbai's coastline. India is home to the highest number of people who have died while taking photos of themselves, with 19 of the world’s 49 recorded selfie-linked deaths since 2014,
n this Feb. 22, 2016, photo, an Indian man takes a selfie in Mumbai's coastline. India is home to the highest number of people who have died while taking photos of themselves, with 19 of the world’s 49 recorded selfie-linked deaths since 2014,

The Indian city of Mumbai has created 16 no-selfie zones around the city in response to several deaths of people taking selfies.

According to the Associated Press, India is home to 19 of the world’s 49 reported selfie deaths since 2014.

These include two people who died earlier this month after one tried to take a selfie near a dam in the town of Nashik in central India. A classmate who jumped in to try to save the man also drowned.

In January, an 18-year-old woman drowned after falling into the ocean at Mumbai’s Bandstand Fort, a site frequented by tourists.

In another incident, an engineering student died in front of the Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadi after the rock he was standing on cracked, leading him to fall and suffer fatal head injuries.

Most of Mumbai’s selfie-free zones are near the water where there are no barriers. Getting caught taking a selfie in these zones could lead to a fine of $18.

"This is a new problem for us," police spokesman Dhananjay Kulkarni told CNN. "We have identified spots in Mumbai. We want to restrain people from going there so that mishaps don't happen."

There has been some pushback against selfies, particularly selfie sticks, in popular tourist spots with the Louvre art museum in Paris and Disneyland imposing bans on selfie sticks.

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