Punjab Government Prohibits Use of Glass-Coated Cotton and All Other Forms of Manja Following PETA India Appeal

For Immediate Release:

13 July 2023

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Chandigarh – Following an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to address bird and human deaths caused by manja, the Punjab Department of Science, Technology & Environment has amended its existing policy and issued a revised notification under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, that mandates “Kite flying shall be permissible only with a cotton thread free from any sharp/metallic/glass components/adhesives/thread strengthening materials.”

The copy of the notification from the Punjab Department of Science, Technology & Environment is available upon request.

This prohibition of metal- and glass-coated cotton string and other deadly variants supplements the ban on nylon manja in order to prevent harm to humans, birds, and other animals as well as the environment. The notification states, “There shall be a complete ban on the manufacture, sale, storage, purchase, supply, import and use of kite flying thread made out of nylon, plastic or any other synthetic material including the popularly known ‘Chinese dor/manjha’ and any other synthetic kite flying thread which is quoted [sic] with synthetic substance and is non-biodegradable as well as any other kite flying thread that is sharp or made sharp such as by being laced with glass, metal or any other sharp materials in the State of Punjab.”

The notification underlines the pollution and the harm to human and animal life caused by this string. It cites the power failures that sharp manja causes when it interferes with power lines, affecting up to 10,000 people with even one disruption. These threads are also often ingested by cows and other animals, leading to life-threatening conditions. Notifications with similar directions have previously been issued by the governments of Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tripura.

“We commend the Punjab government for addressing the dangers posed by kite strings reinforced with glass powder and metal in addition to nylon manja. This amendment to the existing policy will go a long way towards safeguarding the environment and protecting the lives of humans as well as birds, including endangered vultures, who sustain lacerations from these sharp strings,” says PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain. “Most people would choose to use only plain cotton kite strings if they knew that doing so would spare fellow humans and other animals grievous injury and even death.”

Manja, in all its forms, puts humans, birds, other animals, and the environment at risk. Razor-sharp strings, often reinforced with glass powder and metal, cause injuries and many senseless deaths every year. Earlier this year in Amritsar, a girl received 44 stitches after sharp manja lacerated her face, and a boy in Phagwara received 30 stitches in his face and neck due to wounds inflicted by reinforced kite thread. In Mohali, sharp kite thread landed a man in the hospital with lacerations to his fingers and nose. And a 4-year-old boy in Ludhiana who poked his head out of a car window had to be given 120 stitches in addition to surgery after the string became stuck to his face.

The harmful thread also has a disastrous impact on bird populations. Birds’ wings and feet are often slashed or even cut off by manja, and because they frequently manage to escape despite being severely wounded, rescuers can’t help them, and many of them bleed slowly and painfully to death. In January, the Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Gujarat reported that more than 1600 birds injured by manja were brought in for treatment during the two weeks surrounding Uttarayan. In the first week of January 2023 alone, 482 birds were injured by manja in Gujarat, including several migratory birds.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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