Delhi kids join fight to ban deadly kite strings
Ahead of Makar Sankranti, children appeal to several chief ministers to ban manjas coated with crushed glass, which wound and kill thousands of birds every year
NEW DELHI: Planning to celebrate Makar Sankranti by flying kites using razorsharp strings? Just spare a thought for your feathered friends like cuckoos, pigeons, parrots and eagles, for whom the glasscoated manja spells doom.
Now, schoolchildren across the country have vowed not to use these ‘deadly strings’ to fly kites.
Around 2,400 students from public and private schools have joined hands with PETA, an animal rights NGO, and petitioned the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra to ensure a ban on the deadly thread.
This is part of an ongoing campaign to save thousands of birds who are killed every year during Makar Sankranti due to flying kites with manja coated with glass. These children have also pledged not to use manjas,” said Anuradha Sawhney, chief functionary of PETA, India.
She said strings used in kite-flying competitions are often gummed and coated with powdered and finely crushed glass. While this makes the manjas extremely effective at cutting an opponents kite lines, it also makes them deadly for pigeons, crows, owls, kites, etc., who get slashed, wounded and killed when they become entangled in the strings.
According to Gautam Grover from the Delhibased Saviour of Animals, several such cases of bird injuries increases during other festivals also when people fly kites. Concerned at the apathy towards animals, Grover is planning to knock on the the doors of the high court. PTI
Around 2,400 students from public and private schools have joined the PETA campaign