Social media content creators are breaking rules and entering the restricted zone of Charminar, a historic monument in Hyderabad, with their vehicles to make videos for posting on their social media accounts. The Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) has restricted vehicles within a 100-ft radius of the monument for the past decade. However, content creators have been seen performing stunts on vehicles near the crowded market to attract viewership. Police officers are concerned about how the vehicles are entering the restricted area, as all four sides of the Charminar are barricaded.
These creators use hashtags such as Hyderabad, Hyderabadi, Hyderabadi_Nawabs, and Charminar to post hundreds of videos on social media. Several videos of content creators riding bikes, scooters, cars, and performing stunts in the crowded market have gone viral on social media reels. One particular video showed a creator performing a stunt similar to the “KiKi challenge” by stepping out of a moving car from the driver seat and walking towards the crowd.
The Charminar and its surroundings are teeming with street vendors, pushcarts, and tourists, leaving no space for pedestrians. These unlawful activities pose a threat to visitors at the iconic monument. A trader selling artificial jewelry said that these activities are disturbing pedestrians and traders and creating a nuisance. Police officials of Charminar are unaware of these activities, but they warned people against performing such stunts as it is a risk to jump out of a moving car.
Police officials also said that anyone performing stunts on roads will be booked under Section 268 of IPC and under Section 70 (b) of Hyderabad City Police Act for creating a nuisance on the road and endangering the life of other commuters. The police must take strict action and restrict vehicles from entering the area before any untoward incident takes place.
