India's first sex toy shop shuts down in Goa

Goa, March 19: A month after the launch of the much-talked-about offline sex toy store in India which opened in Goa in February, the company has been asked to shut shop by the local Panchayat.

The “sexual wellness” shop called ‘Kama Gizmo’, the first of its kind in India opened on Valentine’s Day market in Goa’s Calangute. But barely a month since the store’s launch, it has shut down by the panchayat citing lack of a trade license on the store’s part.

According to reports, the issue is not just with the lack of trade license but Calangute panchayat’s objection to “such activities”.

Dinesh Simepuruskar, sarpanch of Calangute, said that they had received oral complaints from many people including men and women regarding the shop that was selling “sex-related things” and they also did not have a trade license. “So we have shut it down,” Simepuruskar said, adding, “We don’t want to allow such activities”.

Store co-owner KamaKart’s Prawin Ganeshan told the Indian Express that the trade license was not the only problem. “Since we are outsiders and not from Goa, we are an easy target“, he said.


Also Read: Man dies during sex due to ‘Extreme Orgasm’

 

Kama Gizmos, which is India’s first brick and mortar sex shop, looked more like a well-lit medical store instead of a dimly lit kink store. It sold a variety of items vibrators, sex toys, unique types of condoms, gels and sprays, harnesses, and packers among other items.

The shop came into existence in Goa after studies in 2020 found sales of sex toy and other items soared to 65 per cent last year.