Ahead of August 15, HC asks govt when will it notify Chinese manja ban

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the use of Chinese manja, the Delhi high court on Tuesday — days ahead of Independence Day when kite-flying peaks — asked the

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the use of Chinese manja, the Delhi high court on Tuesday — days ahead of Independence Day when kite-flying peaks — asked the government when it will issue the notification banning threads coated with powdered glass.

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“You (Delhi government) know the urgency, kites are flown on August 15. You get instruction from authorities concerned by when the notification prepared by you and vetted by Delhi government’s law department will be issued,” a bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said.

Chinese manja is a nylon thread coated with powdered glass.

The bench sought the status of the order after it was informed through the Delhi government’s counsel that the notification has been sent to the lieutenant governor for his approval.

“That (notification) is waiting (L-G’s approval) and beyond that we (Delhi government) have no control,” Delhi government’s counsel said.

The Delhi government had on Monday told the court that ‘ Chinese manja’ would be banned soon as it is “conscious of injuries” caused by the kite-flying thread made of nylon.

The court was informed that the Delhi government was in process of issuing a notification for banning Chinese manja and only allowing kite-flying with a cotton thread or natural fibre, “free from metallic or glass components”.

The Supreme Court has recently sent a similar matter to the National Green Tribunal, observing that since the issue relates to protection of environment and wildlife, same should be adjudicated upon by the tribunal.

The court was hearing a plea of Zulfiquar Hussain who has alleged that earlier the “victims” of the synthetic thread were birds, “but now humans are also under threat” and referred to the recent death of a 28-year-old man in East Delhi whose throat allegedly got slit by such a thread while he was riding a motorbike.