The officials from Telangana Forest Department, Telangana State Biodiversity Board and organisations working for the welfare of animals here on Monday urged State Government to ban use of Chinese Manja during the upcoming kite flying season in Sankranti. Kite flying season in Hyderabad takes a huge toll on birds, especially on pigeons, that often get trapped or sometimes their wings get cut after coming in contact with the Nylon Manja thread.

It’s quite common to see pigeons and other small birds getting caught in the left over threads on trees, rooftops and electric poles.

There is no concerted effort to remove the threads, which invariably claim the life of the birds. The departments have already written letters to the State Government to ban the use of Chinese Manja in Hyderabad.

The Forest department has also launched a tip line number (1888-425-5364) to enable public to report incidents of birds getting trapped or injured by Kite thread, laced with Manja.

According to anima lovers, the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have already banned sale and use of Chinese Manja under the provisions of Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Lethal

“The Telangana government should impose a similar ban on Manja, which is lethal, toxic and non-biodegradable in the interest of birds and the environment at large. With collective efforts from authorities, we are hoping that in the coming Sankranti, no birds will be injured. We urge public not use Chinese Manja and celebrate a cruelty-free Sankranti,” said wildlife campaign manager for Humane Society International, India, Hyderabad chapter, C. Samyukta.

Dangerous

Volunteers from HSI pointed out that even the Kite merchants in Old city are keen to see ban on sale of Chinese Manja to come into effect in Telangana because in a way it has affected the livelihoods of large number of local Manja makers who work on cotton thread.

“Cotton Manja is not as dangerous as Manja done on Nylon. Compared to cotton, Nylon is sharper and birds get deep wounds when they come in contact,” volunteers explained.

Recently, Forest officials, Blue Cross Hyderabad and People for Animals had conducted awareness drives to make public aware on the ill-effects of Chinese Mans in Charminar and Dhulpet areas, the wholesale markets of products related to kites.