Makar Sankranti: Use of nylon manja would be punishable offence, says Police

Mumbai Police on Friday issued an order banning the use of nylon manja in the city ahead of the kite flying festival Makar SankrantiThe order was issued by Vishal Thakur DCP Operations Mumbai PoliceEvery year during the kite flying festival injury is caused to people and birds on account of pucca thread made out of plastic or similar synthetic material commonly known as Nylon Manja the order said These injuries many times turn out fatal causing death to people and birds and it is therefore desirable to protect people and birds from the fatal effects of the kite flying thread made out of nylon or plastic or synthetic thread the order statedAlso read Mumbai Police issues advisory for property owners in city shares guidelines to be followed while rentingAll these threads the order said along with the kites remain on the land and because of the very long life of the plastic materials which are nonbiodegradable in nature they can cause damage to the ecology once they touch the soil These threads continue to cause problems such as blockage of sewer lines drainage lines natural waterways such as rivers streams adverse effects on soil and waterways and cattle population caused by cutting or falling of such threads suffocation of cows and other animals who ingest food items along with such nylonplastic materials and thus the impact of such plastic materials used for making threads is many and variedA police official said it was a routine orderThe order further said extensive use of such synthetic thread which are non biodegradable often result in flashover on the power lines and substations which may cause power interruptions to consumers straining and damaging of electrical assets cause accidents injuries to wildlife and loss of life damage to the environment and therefore it is necessary to prevent the use of such nylon threads for kite flyingIt is desirable to protect birds that are getting extinct day by day and classified as rare and endangered species and during the Makar Sankranti kite festival kite flying takes place in a large scale all over MumbaiFor the period of 30 days ie from January 12 2023 to February 10 2023 a ban on the use sale and storage of the pucca threads commonly known as nylon manjha made of the plastic or any such synthetic material which is likely to cause grievous injury to the birds as well as to human beings especially during the festivals where kite flying is done in the jurisdiction of Mumbai Police CommissionerateThis order shall remain in force with effect from 0001 hrs of 12012023 till 2400 hrs of 10022023 unless withdrawn earlier and any person contravening this order shall be punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 the order said