Dr. Satyawan Saurabh
In every city, every street, every locality, when children and teenagers go out to fly kites, their only aim is to touch the sky. But unfortunately, now this kite flight stops only after taking someone’s life. The reason for this is not any ordinary thread, but a deadly product - Chinese Manjha. This Manjha is no longer just a string for kites, it has become the enemy of the life of the common man walking on the road. Every day, there are such news in the newspapers that a person’s neck was cut by the Manjha, some bird’s wings got entangled in the Manjha and got peeled, some school child’s neck was badly injured, some bike rider suddenly fell unconscious, because he did not know that death was hanging in his way on a transparent thread.
The biggest irony of today is that we are living in an era where technology has made everything fast, sharp and cheap. The ill-effects of that are this Chinese Manjha. It is made of fine fibres of nylon, plastic and metal which may look like a normal string, but it has a sharp edge like glass. It neither breaks, nor melts nor is it easily visible. It flutters in the air and when it hits someone’s neck, face or hand, it tears the skin and leaves a deep wound in the body. In many cases, this Manjha acts like a sharp weapon and even cuts the veins of the neck, due to which the bleeding does not stop immediately and the victim even dies.
The question is that when this Manjha is so deadly, how is it being traded openly? This Chinese Manjha is still being sold on the roadside, in markets, on online websites. The ban is only on paper, no action is being taken on the ground level, nor any strictness. This silence of the administration is as sharp and dangerous as this Manjha. In a way, this is a silent approval for that product, which is getting red with someone’s blood every day. When action is not taken despite the law, the trust of the public breaks and the morale of the wrong traders increases further.
Another problem is that those who use this Manjha do not realize the seriousness of its ill-effects. They think that this Manjha is strong, they can cut more kites with it and win the competition. But they forget that this victory can become the defeat of someone’s life. If they visit the emergency ward of hospitals even once and see the condition of people injured by Chinese Manjha, then perhaps they would never pick it up. Sometimes even children get injured due to this Manjha. This Manjha makes such cuts on their delicate bodies that it makes the heart tremble. Imagine, an innocent child is riding a bicycle and suddenly this Manjha gets wrapped around his face - the wounds on his eyes, cheeks or neck will not heal for the rest of his life.
This Manjha has become a curse not only for humans but also for animals and birds. Every year thousands of birds get injured or die after getting entangled in this Manjha. Especially on occasions like Makar Sankranti and Independence Day when kite flying is at its peak, eagles, pigeons, parrots and other birds flying in the sky get injured after getting entangled in this Manjha. Wings of many birds get cut, eyes of some burst and some die hanging in the Manjha entangled in trees or roofs. These scenes shake any sensitive person from within, but unfortunately in the game of kites we only see the thrill of our victory, not the pain of someone losing their life.
If the administration wants, immediate action can be taken on this. First of all, a complete ban on the sale of Chinese Manjha will have to be implemented by running special campaigns in all the districts. Shops in the markets should be regularly checked and strict legal action should be taken against any trader found with this Manjha. There should be a provision of not only fine but also jail sentence so that people get scared. Along with this, awareness campaign is also necessary at the level of society. Information about the ill effects of this Manjha should be given in schools, colonies, panchayats and among the youth. It should be conveyed to the general public through radio, TV and social media. This responsibility is not just of the administration, but of all of us. If each one of us takes a pledge that we will not use this manjha, then the traders will automatically stop selling it. It should be decided in every house that children will be kept away from this manjha and they will be told that the only true victory is that which is achieved without harming others. After all, there can be no game greater than humanity.
It must also be understood that on our roads this Manjha has become a medium of murder and not just an accident. A bike rider who was going to his work as usual, his neck gets cut and he dies on the spot. The family keeps waiting, but a dead body returns. This incident is no longer rare, it is happening again and again. Calling it an accident is now a crime. It is a moral, legal and human duty to stop it.
The sooner steps are taken to completely ban Chinese Manjha, the sooner we can save countless lives. If we do not wake up now, then in the coming times this Manjha will become a warning by taking the life of someone close to us.
A civilized society is not one that only makes laws, but one that guarantees the safety of every individual. And when death is floating on the roads, on the roofs, in the sky in the form of this manjha (string), then the most important thing is to cut this thread of death. Now the time has come for us to say – ‘Fly the kite, but do not drop life.’ |
