Taking into consideration the safety of avian population in the region, the authorities have banned the use of strings made of plastic, nylon and those coated with fine glass powder in kite-flying in West Kochi.
Issuing an order in this regard, Revenue Divisional Officer (in-charge) K. Girija has directed the secretary of the Kochi Corporation to implement the order and entrusted the circle inspectors of police in Mattancherry, Fort Kochi and Palluruthy stations to enforce the ban.
Further, the Deputy Director of Education in Ernakulam has been asked to conduct awareness classes for school students to promote the use of cotton twines in kites.
The order follows a plea submitted by Mukesh Jain of Jain Foundation, a resident of Fort Kochi, which pointed out that such strings, used in kite-flying, hang on to structures such as mobile towers and often result in bird casualties.
Unsuspecting birds looking for a perch get caught in them, finally resulting in their death.
Apart from birds, the strings pose a threat to other animals and even humans as they too get injured when they come in contact with the manjha or the glass powder-coated twines.
The plea said that the petitioner and his team had rescued about 150 birds in the last season alone. It pointed out that a large number of birds often got entangled in synthetic strings, while cotton twines that wore away in the rains posed no threat to the avian population.
Bird lovers in Kochi have been appealing to kite fliers to spare a thought for the safety of pigeons and other birds perched on trees or in flight. Birds often get caught in twines during the Onam season when kite-flying reaches its peak in West Kochi.
