Paragliding too risky: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu warns after tragic deaths in Goa, Himachal Pradesh

Zoho's Chief Executive Officer Sridhar Vembu said paragliding in Kulu, Himachal Pradesh, is "too accident prone" and one must avoid "bad risks like this". He said his "dear friend" lost his son in a para-gliding accident in Kulu recently.

"Yesterday I had the very sad duty to attend the funeral of Jeyesh Ram, 27-year-old son of my dear friend Cibi Anand and Priya. He lost his life in a para-gliding accident in Kulu, Himachal Pradesh last Friday," Sridhar Vembu posted on X.

Not just Jeyesh, but more than five people died in paragliding accidents in Goa and parts of Himachal Pradesh in the past few days.

A 27-year-old woman tourist and her instructor died after they crashed into a ravine while they were paragliding from a cliff at Keri village in North Goa on Saturday evening. The Goa tourism department clarified on Sunday, January 19, that it had not granted permission for paragliding at Keri plateau.

Before this, two tourists died in two separate paragliding accidents in Kangra and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh within a span of 24 hours. The tourists were from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, police said on Saturday.

Last week, Himachal Pradesh tourism authorities had closed the Naga Bagh paragliding site in Raison, six days after a 32-year-old tourist from Andhra Pradesh died in a flying accident.

Paragliding is too risky: Zoho CEO

Warning young people against experiencing sports like paragliding, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said way too many accidents happen with "sickening regulatory."

"Way too many accidents happen with sickening regulatory there and I am deeply saddened Jeyesh became the latest statistic. Much stronger regulatory oversight required here," Vembu said in the post X.

He said his friend's son Jeyesh was a risk taker. "So am I but even at his age I would do a risk analysis and would have declined para-gliding in Kulu as too accident prone. I hope young people, particularly young men, avoid bad risks like this," he added.

Paragliding an 'extreme sport'

Paragliding often falls under this category fall under "Extreme Sports" category.

In 2019, the government included Paragliding among "Air Based" extreme sports category.

It said Adventure sports or extreme sports are activities undertaken through the medium of Land, Water and Air and perceived as involving a high degree of risk.

"These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Details of adventure sports popular in the world are," the Centre said.

"I hope his death does not go in vain and regulators take a good look at this," he noted.