Central Government’s Animal Welfare Board Issues Advisory Against All Sharp Manja Following PETA India’s Appeal
Following an appeal from PETA India, the central government statutory body the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) advised all states and union territories to amend their respective notifications under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986, to prohibit all manja – harmful sharp threads such as nylon or cotton string coated with glass or metal – and to permit the use of only plain cotton string for kite-flying.
Manja, in all its forms, puts humans, birds, other animals, and the environment at risk. Razor-sharp strings, often reinforced with glass powder or metal, cause injuries and many senseless deaths every year. Birds’ wings and feet are often slashed or even cut off by manja, and because they frequently manage to escape despite their severe wounds, rescuers can’t help them, and many of them bleed slowly and painfully to death. In just three days earlier this year, over 100 birds were maimed by the sharp threads in Mumbai.
Manja also harms and kills humans every year. This year, numerous fatalities were recorded across the country, including a 21-year-old man in Maharashtra, four people (including a 4-year-old child) in Gujarat, a man in Madhya Pradesh, and a 12-year-old boy in Rajasthan, whose neck was slit open. It’s only a matter of when the next injury or death will occur.
Manja also causes environmental degradation, traffic accidents, and power failures – just one power line disruption can affect up to 10,000 people. Stray manja, whether synthetic or cotton thread coated with harmful substances such as glass, metal, or other materials, is not biodegradable and is frequently ingested by cows, bulls, and other animals, leading to painful, life-threatening complications.
Following appeals from PETA India, the governments of Chandigarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab issued notifications prohibiting the notorious nylon “Chinese” manja as well as glass- and metal-coated “desi” kite string and mandated that only plain cotton string be used for kite-flying, joining other states and union territories like Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Tripura, which have similar directives in place.
