CUTTACK: Despite a ban, sale and use of Chinese manja (powdered glass coating) on threads of plastic, cotton and nylon continue unabated due to lack of enforcement by the administration in the city.
Unrestricted and unsafe kite flying has posed a serious threat to people as well as birds in and around the city. Thirty-five-year-old Pradip Sahu of Balisukri village under Kissan Nagar police station sustained injuries on his nose, hand and fingers after a dangling glass-coated string curled him at Khannagar on Sunday morning. He was rushed to a private hospital in Mangalabag for treatment.
While Sahu’s case is said to be the first incident after Makar Sankranti this year, as many as four persons were injured in separate incidents near Jagatpur, Krushak Bazar, Badambadi and Madhupatna during the last 10 days.
Locals on Saturday rescued a pigeon which was trapped by the manja thread atop a tree in Jobra’s Pareswar Sahi here. Though both police as well as enforcement wing of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) are claiming to have been carrying out enforcement, residents are not impressed as such mishaps have recurred despite a ban by the administration.
In 2016, the district administration in response to the direction of Orissa High Court had imposed restrictions strictly on sale and use of manja thread and unsafe kite flying after a minor girl died in a mishap near Telengapentha.
As per the direction of the HC, around 10 safe places were identified by the district administration to fly kites in the city but still people continued to fly kites on the rooftops, roads and public places in the city.
“We had seen police and CMC enforcement wing carrying out enforcement activities on Makar Sankranti day. But none came forward to curb kite flying on Sunday,” said the residents. The manja threads could be seen dangling from trees, electric poles, signboards, roofs and boundary walls and even lying on the roads and streets.
Meanwhile, a 10-year-old boy of Tanla Sahi under Bidansi police station died after falling into a drain in the locality on Sunday afternoon. The boy was trying to retrieve a detached kite from the drain when the mishap occurred.
A senior police officer said a man was arrested on charges of selling the banned manja, and fine amounting to Rs 5,000 was collected from the violators in the city on Saturday.