Kite flying turns Jaipur, suburbs into graveyard for many birds

JAIPUR: The craze for kite flying has rung the death knell for birds in and around Jaipur. Animal rights groups running makeshift camps in the city to treat injured birds have been receiving rescue calls throughout the day for the past few days. They are baffled to find that Chinese manjha, despite having been banned, has caused most of the casualties.
The use of glass-coated manjha, which has even spread to rural areas, has been the main reason for the casualties, which have touched an all-time high this year, said Sahil Singhal of People for Animals, a voluntary organisation.
“Most of the birds injured or killed by this manjha are pigeons, followed by parrots, nightingales, owls and eagles. We have been receiving calls even from the city’s outskirts like Chomu, Chandlai, Newta and Jamwaramgarh,” said Singhal.
The Walled City, Vidaydhar Nagar, Vaishali Nagar and Sanganer are on top among the graveyards for the winged creatures. Many birds have been found injured or killed in these populous areas due to a high volume of kite flying right from the morning till evening.
Rohit Gangwal of RAKSHA, an NGO working for animal rights and running a hospital-cum-shelter for birds at Malviya Nagar, said, “A team of veterinary doctors from aboard has joined us this year in rescuing the avian creatures. We have set up two operation theatres with ICU facilities to save seriously injured birds”.
A migratory Rosy Startling bird entangled with Chinese manjha was rescued by RAKSHA at Jawahar Circle. It had sustained a deep wound on the neck and a cut in its left wing. It had to be operated upon to remove the manjha. “It has been kept under observation for two days. If it survives, the next operation will be scheduled,” said Dr Heena Ganjawala, who treated the bird.
Over 500 recuse calls have been received by helpline centres over the last two days, but only half of them could be attended due to a shortage of volunteers and resources. But the circulation of helpline numbers and addresses of makeshift hospitals has led many responsible citizens to call and drop the injured birds there.
The exact number of avian casualties is yet to be ascertained.