PUBG Ban: After Rajkot, PUBG faces ban in Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), the ultimate battle royale game, is the talk of the town in the state of Gujarat and not for a good reason. In fact cities across India are planning to ban the game and have called it 'addictive', 'harmful', and 'distracting'. Earlier last week, there were reports that the game would get  banned in Rajkot, now  Bhavnagar and Gir Somnath districts have gone ahead and issued the notification for banning the mobile game. The notification highlights that the games like PUBG incites violence.

Despite the popularity of the game, there is a darker side to it which has raised alarms in both India and China. In India especially, PUBG has become associated with violent behaviour. It has also resulted in low academic grades of students. The notification also mentioned that the game changes the behaviour of the people over a period of time.

According to the notification, if people are caught playing PUBG then they can be prosecuted under section 188 of IPC. However, cops, education and research institutes have been granted an exemption.

Rajkot district administration in Gujarat is also considering putting a ban on PUBG. Jagruti Pandya, Chairperson of Gujarat Child rights body, in a recommendation issued to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was quoted by PTI saying, "The NCPCR had sent a letter to all the states and recommended a ban on the game. All the states are required to implement it. Looking at the negative effects of the game, we had recently sent a letter to the state government recommending a ban on the game."

Earlier, Gujarat government had banned the popular mobile game PUBG from primary schools. Some academic institutions have claimed direct correlation between the violent game, like PUBG, and the mental health of kids. Even Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) had issued an advisory against games like PUBG and said that it has an harmful, negative and an adverse impact on the brain of the children.

Meanwhile, PUBG has decided to implement digital lock for its users under 13 years of age. The digital lock system will lock out players under the age of 13 and they would have to ask their guardians or parents to open the game for them.

Edited By: Udit Verma

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