Pune: Kites of different hues, shapes and sizes adorning the city skies have grounded over 100 birds over the past one week.

Manoj Oswal, a volunteer at the People For Animals Pune, said cases of bird injury are being reported every half an hour since the past one week. "We have initiated legal action against shops selling Chinese nylon thread or 'manja'. We have two teams, one for rescuing the injured birds while the other for spreading awareness against the use of manja," he said.

Oswal said the kite flying season has just started and over a 100 birds have already been injured in the last one week. "There are 20 other volunteers who are working towards bird safety and the figure might run over a thousand by the end of the season," he claimed.

Senior medical practitioner Kalyan Gangwal of Sarva Jeev Mangal Pratishthan is currently treating four birds.

"We could not save a pigeon in Hadapsar because its neck and legs got entangled in the manja. The Chinese nylon thread is very sharp and the birds get entangled in it due to which they either lose their feathers or their legs are cut," said Gangwal, who has been working for the cause over the past couple of years.

Volunteers believe that the cases will only rise in the coming days. Anil Avachite, a volunteer, said, "Six birds were injured on Friday and we suspect that the cases would only rise hereafter. These birds have come from Camp and Shaniwar Peth. Birds like mynah, kite and a pigeon besides mammals like bats have got injured and the Chinese thread is the main culprit. In fact, in the last one week 145-150 cases have been reported out of which we weren't able to save four birds which included one eagle, two pigeons and a crow."

Making a case against the use of Chinese manja, Payal Mahajani, an animal activist and also a volunteer from Maneka Gandhi's People for Animals, said she has been leading a campaign to create awareness against the use of Chinese nylon thread in flying kites. She with Swapnil Shah, Sandeep Jain, Vaibhav Solanki and Om Bhamkar did an inspection on January 13 with the help of activists who stay in Raviwar Peth and issued warnings to shops selling nylon threads.

"We re-inspected on Thursday and found that the shopkeepers had not paid any heed to our warning," she said.

Sunil Pardeshi, another bird rescuer, said, "Four birds are being treated by our doctor. Since the manja is coated with powdered glass it is harmful for not just the people who fly the kites but also the birds that come in its contact. We try to spread awareness and even if two out of 10 people listen to us it will bring about a huge change."



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