Banned, but manjha injures hundreds of birds on Independence Day in Delhi

NEW DELHI: With kites covering the sky across the capital on Independence Day, hundreds of bird injuries were reported on Saturday. More than 90% of the “sharp” cuts were caused by glass-coated kite string, hospitals said. The number of birds reported injured is expected to spike further in the next 48 hours.
Dr Haravtar Singh, who works at two charitable bird hospitals — at Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh — said most of the cases he operated had suffered injuries due to the banned manjha. “Till 2 pm at Chandni Chowk, I had received around 35 cases, out of which over 30 had suffered manjha injuries. The situation at Karol Bagh was similar. The birds can suffer long-term damage and some may be unable to fly again,” said Singh, adding that a majority of the cases were of pigeons.
“There will be a sharp spike in the cases by Sunday. More people will discover injured birds and the manjha, which is stuck at places, is likely to cause injuries to more unsuspecting birds,” he added. The manjha was banned in 2017 by Delhi government, citing a large number of injuries and deaths caused to both humans and birds.
Sunil Jain, who runs the charitable bird hospital at Chandni Chowk, said despite a ban existing on paper, manjha continues to take away lives. “Last year, we recorded more cases than the year before that and it shows how the ban is not being implemented. We have already received a number of injured birds this year and by Monday, this figure will rise even further,” added Jain.
Wildlife Rescue, a bird hospital in Wazirabad, said till Thursday evening, eight injured kites had arrived at their hospital. “We expect this figure to increase by Sunday and Monday,” said Shehzad.
PETA India says people can reach out to them on their emergency and helpline numbers to report injured birds. “Last year, 700 birds were injured due to the manjha in Delhi. In the next couple of days, more birds with manjha-induced injuries are expected to be rescued and hospitalised even as trade and use of banned sharp kite threads continue in the capital,” said a PETA spokesperson.
In Video:Hundreds of birds injured due to banned manjha on Independence Day in Delhi