Gujarat bans Chinese ‘manjha’ for Uttarayan festival

The Dollar Business Bureau

The government of Gujarat on Thursday told the Gujarat High Court about its order to ban Chinese 'manjha' for kite-flying during the festivities of Uttarayan and said that it prefers using the cotton thread ‘manjha’.

The state government said the decision has been taken as a response to the petition seeking restrictions on flying kites due to the death of birds and in few cases, of humans because of the sharp threads of manjha.

The state government, in an affidavit filed in the Gujarat High Court before the division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice VM Pancholi, stressed on the significance of Uttarayan festival which provides livelihood to many people.

The government further said that it has already taken action against the Chinese manjha that causes fatalities due to the use of abrasive coat of crushed glass in making them razor sharp.

Therefore, the orders have been issued to ban the Chinese manjha to all 38 district authorities all over the state, it said.

“The banning of Chinese threads will take care of most of the objections raised by the petitioner,” it added.

The High Court had sought response from the government on the varieties of 'manjha' that should be banned after the public interest litigation (PIL) highlighted deaths occurred due to flying kites during the season.

In its response, the government also pointed out the religious and cultural significance of Uttarayan.