Forest officials, with coordination from police and NGOs, seized 900 kg of Chinese manja (a sharp thread used to cut kites in the air) in the last three years.
The department had also booked a total of 123 cases against the offenders, forest officials told a press conference here on Friday.
Speaking at the conference, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests P. K. Jha said use of Chinese manja, made of nylon or synthetic material with a glass coating, was unfriendly to the environment and birds. The material was non biodegradable, and would result in bird deaths when the latter got entangled in the thread. There had been occasions where human deaths too were reported due to the manja.
The manja is favoured by people, especially before Sankranti when kites are flown by tradition, because it is strong, and snaps hard. It is widely sold in bulk at locations such as Dhoolpet, Charminar and Secunderabad. Posters were displayed at all these shops in Telugu, English and Urdu to discourage purchase of th manja, Mr. Jha said.
Sale, storage and transport of Chinese manja would attract imprisonment up to five years and penalty up to ₹1 lakh, while causing injury or death by the manja, either of birds or humans, was liable for imprisonment from three to seven years and fine.
The Chinese manja was banned in the Telangana, following National Green Tribunal’s orders in 2017.
The forest officials may be alerted about sale of the manja on toll-free number 18004255364 or 040-23231440.