Shopkeepers held for selling manja despite ban by NGT

Mumbai: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and People for Animals (PFA), temporarily shut down two shops selling glass-coated, nylon and Chinese kite-flying string colloquially known as manja, seizing nearly 100kg manja. Police arrested the shopkeepers and a case was registered under 5 and 15 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.

Responding to PETA’s petition for a nationwide ban on all forms of sharp manja, a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, chairperson, National Green Tribunal (NGT), passed an interim prohibit order banning procurement, stocking, sale and use of manja made of nylon thread also called Chinese dor and of synthetic or cotton thread coated with glass and other hazardous compounds until the next hearing on February 1.

According to officials, one Meet Ashar, emergency response coordinator, PETA India, met the Mumbai police commissioner for implementation of the ban, which resulted in passing of the order. Mr Ashar also met environment officials who are members of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to implement the ban. Meanwhile, police and other officials from Nagpur, Nashik and Telangana issued their own orders against sale and use of manja or conducted raids. Nirali Karodia of PFA said, “Shopkeepers were well aware of the ban yet they were selling manja openly. It is a threat to people's life and should be extricated from the market on an immediate basis.”

According to Bombay Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA), this Makar Sankrant festival on January 14 saw several birds getting injured by manja. Last year, four people died and three people, including a policeman, sustained injuries due to manja within a week of Independence Day celebrations. PETA's petition in the NGT said that manja causes expensive blackouts and electrocutes kite-flyers. Manja made of synthetic material such as nylon is also destructive to the environment as it litters the soil and chokes drainage lines, sewer systems and natural waterways.