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Nagpur: The time is here again! The much-awaited event of the year – Kite festival – is all set to turn the Orange City skies with vibrant colours. Makar Sankranti, which is falling on January 15 this year, marks the kite festival. Kites of different hues, colours and shapes would dot the Nagpur skies and the atmosphere reverberating with shrill cries of “O Paar” and “O Kaat.”
However, the deadly nylon manja has turned out to be a villain and playing spoilsport. The banned stuff has robbed the fun and frolic associated with kite-flying. Kids as well as elders enjoy kite-flying, running after kites that get snapped from manja and drift across skies. But the use of nylon manja has posed hazards for the kite-flyers and others too. The nylon manja which is banned because of its deadly capacity spoiled the exciting sport of kite flying.
Markets in Nagpur, especially the lane of Juni Shukrawari, famous for kites and chakris, are decked up for Makar Sankranti and the Kite Festival. Thousands of kites have been on display to be purchased by enthusiasts. The youngsters in the company of elders in the family would be seen camping on terraces and open grounds as kite flying will be at its frenzied peak on the day of Makar Sankranti.
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24 April 2025
However, the kite festival also brings to the fore a disturbing aspect – deadly nylon, glass coated manja – which sometimes prove fatal not only to kite flyers but also to birds and other species of animals. The clandestine business of manufacture and sale of nylon manja, glass coated manja goes on unabated despite a nationwide ban on the very dangerous stuff. But still the rampant sale and use of the banned manja continues unabatedly mainly due to the lethargic attitude of concerned authorities to implement the ban in letter and spirit.
While the law bans the manufacture and sale of the manja, there is no mechanism to ensure that it is adhered to. Because of high demand, the hazardous stuff continues to be sold and used widely. The kite festival is celebrated for a day or two but its effects are seen throughout the year as the manja gets entangled in trees or power lines or windows of houses. An unwary person later gets stuck in them. There are umpteen number of cases where kids got seriously injured by the nylon and glass coated manja.
Every year, a high number of fatal mishaps owing to use of nylon and glass coated synthetic manja grab headlines. But still the kite festival is celebrated with frenzied spirits in the Second Capital City of Nagpur.
Kids enjoy kite-flying, running after kites that get snapped from the thread and drift across skies. The lane of Juni Shukrawari, famous for kites and chakris, is all decked up with displays of colourful kites. However, this season is a different one. There appears to be an uneven selling of kites and manja chakris.
Nylon manja, also known as Chinese Mono Kite Reel, is being imported from Delhi and nearby places like Yavatmal, Akola, and Amravati, as per the reports. There’s a surge in the price of kite, because of an increase in the price of raw materials. But it does not deter the enthusiastic lot in enjoying kite flying. But the issue of nylon manja continues to hound concerned authorities and the kite-flyers as well.
