Just days before the Makar Sankranti festival, a dangerous encounter with a banned Chinese kite string left a woman in Raipur with serious injuries. This incident has prompted Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai to issue a stern warning against the use of the lethal thread and to direct officials to clamp down on its sale and use.
A Walk to Temple Turns Painful
The victim, Neha Yadav, a resident of Brahmanpara, was on her way to a temple in Lakhenagar on Sunday evening when the accident occurred. A stray kite string, known as manjha, became entangled on her face. As she instinctively tried to remove the thread, the sharp synthetic material acted like a blade, slicing through her lip and thumb.
"Something suddenly hit my face. When I tried to pull it away, both my lip and thumb got cut. I only realized it was manjha when the blood started flowing," Neha recounted to reporters. Bystanders quickly rushed to her aid, removed the string, and took her to a doctor. Her injuries required ten stitches before she was discharged.
Chief Minister's Stern Directive and Public Appeal
Taking serious note of this and similar recurring incidents, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai made a strong appeal to citizens. He urged them to completely avoid the dangerous Chinese manjha during the kite-flying season.
"The news of accidents caused by Chinese manjha around Makar Sankranti is worrying," the CM stated. "Let us celebrate this joyful kite festival safely and with our traditional enthusiasm. Do not use Chinese manjha at all. It is banned. Safety is our highest priority."
He emphasized that all concerned officials have been instructed to ensure the ban is strictly enforced. Furthermore, he directed them to create wide public awareness about the severe dangers posed by this banned string.
Questions Over Enforcement and a History of Accidents
While the Raipur Municipal Corporation claims that Chinese manjha is not being sold openly in the city and that enforcement teams are conducting regular raids, Sunday's incident casts doubt on the effectiveness of these measures. This is not an isolated case in Raipur.
The city has witnessed several serious manjha-related accidents in the past year:
- On 19 January 2025, a 7-year-old boy named Pushkar died after a manjha string slit his neck while he was riding with his father.
- On 20 January 2025, lawyer Poornansha Kaushik was injured by manjha while travelling from the Expressway to Raipur railway station.
- In February 2025, two students travelling towards Shankar Nagar were caught in manjha, with one of them suffering injuries.
Authorities have conducted recent raids on shops, recovering the banned thread and fining shopkeepers with warnings of stricter action in the future.
The Legal Backdrop
The use of Chinese and nylon manjha has been illegal since 2017, when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a nationwide ban. The tribunal cited the significant risks these strings pose not only to humans but also to birds and the environment. The synthetic material is non-biodegradable and its extreme sharpness can cause fatal cuts.
As Makar Sankranti approaches, the incident in Raipur serves as a grim reminder of the lethal consequences of flouting this ban. The state administration's renewed focus on enforcement highlights the critical need for public cooperation to ensure the festival is celebrated with joy, not tragedy.
