Manja menace: Why can’t you fly kites just for fun?

Manja has reared its ugly head again in Chennai.  Two little boys riding with their fathers on bikes were injured when a stray manja kite thread slit their throats in the last 10 days. Their shocked parents rushed them to the hospital for immediate treatment.

The police had passed prohibitory order banning flying kites with manja four years ago. They further said those arrested for flying kites with manja would face a jail term.  

The manufacture, sale and storage of manja thread have also been banned.  Several special teams were formed, cases filed and hundreds arrested for flying manja kites. Awareness campaigns were also held. Cases of deaths and injured dipped following the order.

This week, following complaints from injured kids' parents, a special police team formed by Chennai CoP A. K Viswanathan raided a house in Tambaram and seized over 300 kites, several bundles of manja and raw materials like vajram and glass needed for making manja thread.  Five persons, including a college student, were arrested.

Kite-flying has been one of the favourite pastimes of  people across the country.

Gujarat celebrates international kite festival every  January drawing hundreds of contestants and thousands of spectators.

In good old Madras, boys loved flying kites during holidays and Sundays.

One could witness colourful long-tailed kites of different sizes and shapes dotting the blue sky.

Besides making kites with newspapers and colour papers, they used to buy kites available in several nearby shops. Manja was prepared with powdered glass.

However, instances of manja casualties or injured were not reported much those days.

Manja kites usually cut off the strings of other kites. While the winner's kite flies, the loser's kite that is cut drifts and entangles the neck of those on bikes. They cause fatal accidents or leave the victims injured.

A couple of years ago, the NGT, hearing a petition filed by Peta (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals),  had banned use of nylon and synthetic manja as they posed a threat to environment and lives. Peta had said in its petition that manja kites, stuck in branches of trees, also kill and injure birds.

The recent crackdown on such manja kite makers and users in Chennai is step in the right direction which will ensure bikers’ safety and help the popular game regain its lost sheen.