New Delhi: Colours wash the sky with kites every year around Independence Day, but secretly lurks the silent killer, Chinese manjha, glass-coated synthetic thread banned in Delhi since 2017. The Chinese manjha continues to be sold openly, in markets, and on the Internet, inflicting grave injuries and fatalities on birds, animals, and even humans.
“Most people know it’s banned,” says Aashina Sawarkar, animal rights activist, president of CKNKH Foundation, and member of People For Animals (PFA). “But they still choose it because it’s sharper, cheaper, and gives them a better chance at winning. They never think their win might cost a life.”
Birds are the most frequent victims. “Our rescue teams get dozens of calls daily, pigeons, kites, bulbuls bleeding from necks, wings, beaks,” she says. “One case I’ll never forget was a bulbul we named Nanhi. Found hanging by her leg, the manjha had cut off blood flow. We had to amputate. She died in shock. Later, we found her nest with three babies inside, crying for their mother.”
It doesn’t stop with birds. Stray dogs and cows also get entangled in leftover manjha on roads and garbage piles. “We’ve rescued dogs with maggot-filled wounds from manjha embedded in their legs for days. Cows, too, are walking with deep, infected cuts. It’s heartbreaking,” she adds.
So, how is it still available? “It’s sold under the counter, disguised as Indian manjha or through code words online,” Aashina explains. “We’ve submitted videos of illegal sales to authorities, but action is minimal. Enforcement comes only during festivals, and even then, it’s weak.”
She urges people to switch to eco-friendly cotton manjha or, better yet, skip kite flying altogether. “One less kite can save 10 lives,” she says.
“Take your children to shelters, show them the birds we couldn’t save,” she adds. “Let empathy replace entertainment. Change starts with one person saying not this year.”
As India prepares to celebrate freedom, the question remains how many lives must fall from the sky before we ground this deadly thread for good?