chinese manja ban in india, govt banning Chinese 'manja'

Описание: Kites are flown throughout the year and during special kite flying festivals in the region. Two fighters will entangle the glass powder coated manja while flying their kites in the sky and try to cut off the string of each other's kites by pulling it.
The winner's kite keeps flying while the loser's kite gets cut and drifts away with the wind. Children and/or adults run after a cut kite and try to capture it when it falls to the ground,
The water is boiled with the addition of vajram, to which is added a paste of maida and finely powdered glass pieces to make a thick colloidal solution and the abrasives are added. The colouring is added, while stirring is continued to make a thick paste without the sedimentation of the glass and abrasives.
Both kite runners and kite fighters die or endanger their lives because they run into the path of oncoming traffic and trains without looking down or fall from trees and buildings which they were trying to scale to get at kites that landed on top while gazing up and running after kites. They may walk around in the middle of congested towns and cities and while gazing up may be dangerously unaware of what is happening on the ground in their immediate surroundings causing injuries and collisions with traffic.
The first death occurred when a 4-year-old boy had his throat cut by the kite when he was looking out of the sunroof on the vehicle that he was inside. The second death happened when a man, aged 22, also got cut on the neck by the kite, but this time he was riding on a motorcycle. The third and final death occurred in a similar way as the first death, in which a child, this time a 3-year-old female, was looking out of the sunroof on her vehicle. Instead of having her throat immediately cut by the kite, she was strangled by the string, which then caused a cut to her throat which resulted in her death. They were all killed by manja.
The National Green Tribunal's ruling banning Chinese 'manja' - the string used to fly kites - is a "lifesaving" step, animal rights body PETA today said.
The NGT today ruled that there will be a complete ban on the chinese manja strings or any synthetic material which is non-biodegradable as it poses a threat to the environment.
"This prohibition on the use of synthetic and nylon manja is a lifesaving step and now we must press on until all dangerous manja is banned.
"Particularly worrying is glass-coated manja which has caused injuries and deaths of children, birds and others and so must also be banned," said Nikunj Sharma, Lead, Public Policy, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
NGT directed all state governments to prohibit the "manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use" of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other synthetic strings used for flying kites with immediate effect.
In March 2017, a man in Chennai died after his throat was slit with sharp manja while he was driving a bike.
On August 15, 2016, three people - including two 3-year- olds - were killed in Delhi when their throats were slashed by manja.
Recently three people died in a similar manner while riding motorbikes, including a man in Ghaziabad in July, 2016, a man in East Delhi in August 2015, and a 5-year-old boy in Chennai who was riding with his father in 2015, PETA claimed.
The body said that thousands of birds are also killed every year when they are cut or trapped by manja, which can get entangled in trees or buildings for weeks.
The National Green Tribunal today imposed a complete ban on ‘manja’, the string used to fly kites, made of nylon or any synthetic material which is non-biodegradable, saying it posed a threat to the lives of birds, animals and humans. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed all state governments to prohibit the “manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use” of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other synthetic threads used for flying kites. The green panel clarified that the ban order would apply on nylon, Chinese and cotton manja coated with glass. “There shall be a total ban on the manja or thread for kite flying which is made of nylon or any other synthetic material and or is coated with synthetic substance and is non-biodegradable…
“All chief secretaries of states and Union Territories are directed to enforce prohibition on manufacture and use of synthetic manja/nylon thread for flying kites throughout the country,” the bench said.