The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed on Tuesday a complete ban on manjha (kite string) made of nylon or any non-biodegradable synthetic material as it poses a threat to humans, birds and animals and is harmful to the environment.
A bench led by NGT chief Justice (retd) Swatanter Kumar directed all states to prohibit the “manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use” of such manjha made of nylon or any non-biodegradable synthetic material. The green panel also clarified that the ban order would apply to nylon, Chinese and cotton manjha coated with glass as it was harmful to both humans and birds.
“All chief secretaries of states and Union territories are directed to enforce a prohibition on manufacture and use of synthetic manjha/nylon thread for flying kites throughout the country,” the bench added. The judgment came on a plea which had been filed by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) and others which had argued that such kinds of manjha posed a threat to the lives of humans, animals and even birds with a number of deaths reported each year.
Due to ‘manjha’ being coated with glass, metals and other sharp material, these strings act as good conductors of electricity, increasing the probability of detached manjha strings stuck in power lines electrocuting kite flyers and passers-by coming into contact with these strings,” the petition submitted by Peta had said. In the petition, Peta had said that children were engaged in the cottage industry for the manufacture of manjha which was causing respiratory problems as they were inhaling harmful substances hazardous to their health.
Earlier in December, the green panel had imposed an interim nationwide ban on the use of glass-coated manjha, citing that it posed a threat to the environment. The bench had said the ban would apply to nylon, Chinese and cotton manjha coated with glass and had directed the Manja Association of India to submit a report to CPCB on its harmful effects.
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