Kite flyers using ‘manja’ thread to be detained under Goondas Act

CHENNAI: From now on, kite flyers using the banned manja thread will be detained under the Goondas Act. The decision comes amid reports of as many as 13 people getting injured by dangling manja threads at various places across Chennai since the lockdown started.

The Act empowers the police to detain a person in jail for one year without bail.While several teenagers and youngsters were nabbed for either flying kites using the banned thread or for making the thread, they were usually let off with a warning and only a few were arrested.

In a fresh incident, a four-year-old girl suffered injury on her neck by a manja thread in MKB Nagar on Thursday. Currently, she is undergoing treatment. Similarly, on Monday a 35-year-old suffered a cut near her nose from the thread. In light of these incidents, City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan has issued an internal circular to detain the offenders under Goondas Act, pointing out that the time for issuing warnings and showing mercy was over.

“Despite several warnings, people do not listen. Whenever the patrol police follow the kites, people cut off the ‘manja’ thread and escape. Cutting off the threads is more dangerous as they dangle randomly, injuring anyone on the path,” said a senior police officer.

In July 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned the use of ‘Chinese’ kite strings, made of nylon or any synthetic material, which is non-biodegradable. Then they directed the State governments to prohibit the “manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use” of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other synthetic strings used for flying kites with immediate effect. The Chennai city police had also banned flying kites using manja and have made awareness videos on the issue.

A senior police officer said that when they conducted raids and seized manja threads they normally did not book the suspects as most of them turn out to be juveniles.