CUTTACK: Despite a ban, the sale and use of Chinese manja, kite strings coated with powdered glass made of plastic, cotton and nylon continue unabated in and around Cuttack city.
Unrestricted and unsafe kite flying has emerged as a serious threat to both people and birds, with authorities allegedly turning a blind eye to the Orissa High Court’s orders.
Even a fortnight ahead of Makar Sankranti, three persons, including a woman, were critically injured in two separate incidents after coming into contact with dangling Chinese manja on roads in the 42 Mouza and Baranga localities on Wednesday.
Last year, forest officials rescued a grievously injured greater adjutant bird that was found entangled in a glass powder-laced kite string at Champia village under Khuntuni police limits on January 15. In 2016, following the death of a minor girl whose throat was slit by a manja string on NH-16 near Telengapentha, the district administration had imposed strict restrictions on the sale and use of manja and unsafe kite flying, acting on directions of the Orissa High Court. The administration had also identified 10 locations in and around the city for safe kite flying.
However, as the district administration is yet to identify and officially notify safe kite-flying zones, people, particularly youths and children, are seen flying kites on rooftops, roads and other public places across Cuttack.
The enforcement wing of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) conducted raids at some wholesale shops in Choudhury Bazar, Pithapur and Jhola Sahi on December 12, seizing four bags of banned Chinese manja from a wholesale shop in Jhola Sahi. The shop owner was fined only `2,000 for selling the prohibited thread.
Since then, no further enforcement action has been carried out, despite the formation of two special enforcement squads by the CMC, each comprising eight members headed by a junior enforcement officer, to conduct regular drives.
“The crackdown was just an eyewash. Other wholesalers dealing in Chinese manja paid off enforcement officials to continue their illegal business clandestinely, with assurances of prior information before raids,” alleged a resident, questioning why the civic body’s enforcement wing had stopped its drive despite earlier assurances.
Neither the district administration nor the civic body appears serious about an issue that endangers the lives of both humans and birds, he added.