Ban glass-coated kite string: PETA

Mumbai: The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Friday moved Supreme Court (SC), demanding a ban on glass-coated cotton manja (kite string). The PETA said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had, on July 11, imposed a country-wide ban on the use of Chinese strings, made of nylon or any synthetic material which is non-biodegradable and now it wants to expand the scope of the ban.

PETA had previously filed a petition in the NGT in August 2016, and in December, the NGT issued an interim ban on the production, sale, procurement, and import of all forms of manja and allowed kite flying to be done only with a plain cotton thread.

However, these glass cover threads can be deadly for animals and humans and remain intact in the environment for many years — glass bottles take an estimated 1 million years to biodegrade — and may, in fact, never biodegrade.

Talking to The Asian Age, PETA lead, public policy Nikunj Sharma, “Glass-coated manja has caused several injuries — even the deaths of humans, animals and birds, so it is a must that such stuff be banned for public safety and wildlife protection.”

“Manja is an abrasive thread used for kite-fighting. Fine particles of glass are used to polish the thread and make it sharp to cut other thread, and poor birds and animals are common victims during the festival when people indulge in kite fights,” he said.

Albeit a nationwide ban, the sale of illegal Chinese manja continues in the city’s bazaars. In fact, the ban on glass-coated manja’s sale in recent years has only pushed it into the black market and sent its prices skyrocketing.

While alternatives such as cotton manja are available in the market, they are more expensive as compared to the ‘Chinese’ one. Twelve reels of cotton manja costs around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000, while the same amount of ‘Chinese’ manja costs between Rs 350 to Rs 450, a reason why people continue to prefer buying cheap threads in the black market.

Kite sellers go desi

City kite sellers said that they have suffered losses after the ban on manja. Now they have shifted to selling manja made of cotton, which is manufactured in Bareilly. The sale of illegal Chinese manja continues in bazaars, even though its alternative, the cotton manja too is available in the market but is more expensive. Kite seller Haji Nuqeem  from Immanwada Dongri said , “After the ban, we have stopped keeping  Chinese manja  that is harmful. I sell the Bareilly-made cotton manja.”

2,000 birds fall prey

Around 2,000 birds, including endangered species such as vultures, are injured every year during Makar Sankranti , and many die from their injuries. Lt Col Dr J.C. Khanna of the Bombay Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, “Birds are the victims of the kite flying instances and this year, there was around 500 birds that were treated by our hospital.” Thousands of birds are also killed every year when they’re cut or trapped by manja, which can get tangled in trees or on buildings for weeks.