: The Delhi Police on Thursday declared the storage, sale and use of metal-coated manjhas a criminal offence.
The order came into effect from Thursday, and will be into force till October 16, said Rajan Bhagat, the Delhi Police PRO.
“For kite-flying, various types of threads, commonly known as manjha , are used. Of late, a new type of manjha with metallic powder coating is available. This type of manjha is not only very strong but also a good conductor of electricity,” said the PRO.
Such manjhas pose threat of electrocution to kite-flyers and passers-by, apart from causing disruption to power supply.
Over the last few days, three persons have died and at least five seriously injured after they got entangled in manjhas .
Two of these incidents involved children who had stuck their heads out of the sunroofs of their cars while travelling in the city. They later died due to injury to their necks.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Thursday also banned the manufacture and use of manjhas in the city. Earlier, the government had banned only China-manufactured manjhas .
In an order issued on Thursday, the Delhi government said that to prevent danger to humans, manufacturing, trading and use of any string coated with powdered glass, metal or any other substance to enhance the sharpness or any nylon string is banned in Delhi under Section 142 of the CrPC.
