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Zoho CEO warns of paragliding risks after death of friend’s son: ‘Way too many accidents’
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has raised concerns about the risks associated with paragliding following the tragic death of Jayesh Ram.
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has raised concerns about the risks associated with paragliding following the tragic death of Jayesh Ram, a 27-year-old entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. Vembu, 57, shared a heartfelt tribute to Jayesh, the son of a family friend, who lost his life in a paragliding accident in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, last Friday.
The billionaire CEO of Zoho also spoke about the lack of regulatory oversight and safety measures when it comes to adventure sports in India.
“Way too many accidents happen”
In an X post shared after attending the funeral of Jeyesh Ram, Sridhar Vembu said: “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 Kullu, Himachal Pradesh last Friday.”
He called for stronger regulatory oversight in adventure sports, particularly after the recent spate of paragliding accidents in popular tourist spots like Goa and Himachal. “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,” said Vembu.
A promising life cut short
Vembu said that Jeyesh was an entrepreneur who was “very kind” to his employees.
“We had invested in Jeyesh's venture Tools Hub, a fast growing hardware retail store franchise. His father Anand suggested the name Karuvi and it was Tools Hub distributor Abdul Gafoor, a long time Zoho customer and good friend of Anand who suggested the idea of Karuvi to us,” wrote the CEO of Zoho.
Vembu further praised Jeyesh as a “dashing young man” who was “very kind to his employees and all those around him.”
The 57-year-old said that Jeyesh was a risk taker, just like himself, but warned other youngsters to avoid “bad risks”.
“He 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 Kullu as too accident prone. I hope young people, particularly young men, avoid bad risks like this,” wrote Vembu.
He ended his post with a call to regulators to look into these and similar accidents to avoid any further incidents.
According to the Indian Express, Jeyesh Ram was killed and his pilot severely injured after their paraglider collided with another paraglider in Kullu on Friday.
(Also read: 2 dead in Goa paraglider crash; tourism department says permission was not given)
