Cuttack: With the people set to celebrate Makar Sankranti by flying kites in Odisha’s Cuttack next month, police have warned them against using the Chinese ‘Manja” (glass-coated synthetic threads) and plastic threads for the purpose.
Sources said the Commissionerate Police has imposed a ban on Chinese ‘Manja’ used as strings in kites in the millennium city. Strict warning has been issued for stringent action against those who found selling and using Chinese Manja for flying kites.
Notably, the Orissa High Court has also issued a directive for imposing restrictions on the sale of Chinese Manja.
Cuttack DCP Jagmohan Meena reportedly said that IICs of all the police stations in Cuttack have been directed to nab the traders illegally selling Chinese manja.
Meetings have been held with the IICs of all the police stations in the city. Earlier, the Orissa High Court issued an order to put restrictions on the illegal use of Chinese Manja and the district administration also issued an order last year to ban this, he said.
Chinese Manja is dangerous and it can create injuries to human beings, animals and birds. Police will not allow the sale of Chinese Manja in the city, he added.
Despite a ban on Chinese Manja, plastic threads and threads coated with fine glass particles continue to be sold at different places in the city, especially during kite-flying competitions.
It may be noted here that in December 2021, a man died after his throat got slit by the Manja (glass-coated kite string) when he was going on a motorcycle with his wife to his father-in-law’s place at Pirbazaar in Cuttack.
In 2016, a five-year-old girl was killed after her throat got slit by a sharp kite string at Telengapentha under Sadar police limits in the city.
This apart, several others sustained injuries after getting entangled in Manja thread in Odisha in the last few years.
