AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
KERI: The tragic death of a tourist and her paragliding instructor at Keri on January 18 has ignited a heated debate surrounding safety standards and the response from the Department of Tourism, which hastily suspended all paragliding activities across the state after the accident.
But was this just a knee-jerk reaction, and should the government be doing more to ensure safety protocols in adventure sports instead of reacting only after a mishap has happened?
The sudden suspension caught many sports enthusiasts off guard. Anil Madgavkar, founder and first president of the Paragliding Association of India (PAI), responded with a letter to the Department, stating, “Paragliding is far safer than driving on our roads. Every day, hundreds of accidents happen on the roads, with many fatalities. Yet, vehicles are not banned.”
In response, senior officials within the Department of Tourism, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the need for better safety protocols, saying, “We agree with Madgavkar’s point. However, we have suspended the sport until proper safety systems are implemented. As of now, there are no systems to test the equipment.”
Madgavkar, in his letter to the Department of Tourism, criticized the knee-jerk reaction of suspending the sport. He pointed out that this was the first fatal paragliding accident in the past decade and that accidents, whether on roads, in the air, or on water, are typically caused by equipment failure or human error. “All accidents, including those in the air, are a result of either equipment failure or pilot error,” Madgavkar said.
Locals, including Andrew Fernandes, also weighed in on the issue. “Apart from here and Tiracol, there are other operators at Arambol's sweet water lake, who are working hand-in-glove with the authorities. Only when a tragedy occurs does everyone take notice,” Fernandes said.
Madgavkar suggested that the solution lies in proper equipment inspection and certification, along with ensuring that pilots are adequately trained. In his letter to the Department, dated January 27, 2025, Madgavkar recommended that the government approach PAI to certify the equipment and pilots to avoid further accidents.
Officials in the Department of Tourism, speaking privately, agreed that comprehensive safety protocols are needed to minimize accidents.
“We are working on new guidelines, and they should be ready soon.
The suspension was not meant to end the sport but to ensure it operates on a safer path for both enthusiasts and operators,” explained Kedar Naik, the newly appointed Director of Tourism.
In the wake of the casualty, Shekhar Raizada, the owner of the paragliding company Hike & Fly, was arrested the following day. Raizada, however, contends that he was unfairly blamed for the tragedy, though it is true his registration had lapsed last November. “My registration expired on November 2, 2024. I went to renew it a few days before the expiration, but was told I could only do so on the exact date it expired. It’s unfortunate that after the tragedy, the department claimed I wasn’t registered,” he lamented.
Kedar Naik, the newly appointed Director of Tourism, responded, “I was not aware of the details regarding his registration, but I will investigate the matter. There are some operators working without registration, but we will ensure that this practice stops.”