Cuttack Police Intensify Crackdown On Banned Chinese ‘Manja’ Ahead Of Makar Sankranti

Cuttack: Ahead of Makar Sankranti, the Commissionrate Police here on Monday issued a stern warning against use of ‘banned’ Chinese manja (powdered glass-coated threads) for flying kites in Odisha’s Cuttack city.

Police teams conducted raids on shops, selling kites, in the city to crackdown on illegal sale of the banned strings. “Raids are being conducted in Cuttack city and periphery areas following an instruction from the DCP and ‘manja’ strings have also been seized,” Additional DCP Amrendra Panda said.

He also warned of strict action for violation of the public order.

Shopkeepers told the media that they no longer stock the banned ‘manja’ but these are readily available on e-commerce platforms. The city denizens, on the other hand, urged police to strictly implement the ban on plastic strings, which can prove fatal for commuters.

Earlier in the day, a youth, identified as Aniket Das, sustained injuries on his neck and finger while riding a motorcycle after a dangling glass-coated kite string curled around him on Trisulia bridge. Several such incidents have been reported in the last 10 days, sources said.

In 2016, the district administration on the direction of Orissa High Court had imposed restrictions on the use of dangerous strings and unsafe kite flying after a minor girl died in a mishap near Telengapentha.