Paragliding activities across Goa suspended

Panaji: After the death of two paragliding enthusiasts at Keri, the tourism department issued an order suspending all paragliding activities — motorised and non-motorised — throughout the state with immediate effect. The department also ordered a review of all activities to check if the operators are following safety standards.

The move comes against the backdrop of the death of a lady from Pune and the paraglider operator a few days ago. Tourism director Kedar Naik issued an order on Friday.

“All police officers and persons in charge of police stations within their respective jurisdictions are hereby directed to assist in the enforcement of this order,” said Naik in the order.

“Any person, company, association, firm, or any other entity that fails to comply with this order or obstructs any person acting under its authority shall be liable to a fine of Rs 50,000 and subject to penal action under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.”

He said that the department will undertake a review of all the existing registrations issued under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982, pertaining to paragliding activities throughout Goa, to ensure compliance with the requisite safety standards.

“All operators engaged in paragliding activities, motorised and non-motorised, have been asked to submit the prescribed documentation to the department for inspection,” said Naik.

However, a stakeholder said that the tourism department lacks qualified experts in paragliding who can verify if the paragliding operators adhere to safety standards while conducting operations.

Paragliding is a high-risk adventure sport that depends on wind, altitude, temperature, and several other parameters that cannot be checked through documentation, said the stakeholder.