Hyderabad: Despite ban, sale of tangus goes unabated in market

Hyderabad: With the upcoming Makar Sankranti, festival of kites, the illegal sale of Chinese manja (glass-coated thread) also known as tangus manja has once again unabated across the city's kite markets in Begum Bazaar, Hussainialam, Dhoolpet and Mangalhat areas. The demand for Chinese manja continues to soar as the kite-flying reaches a peak in the season of Sankranti.

Despite the ban, there has not been any respite in the sale of illegal Chinese manja among retailers and kite flyers in the city. The manja is easily available in the market, even though the police intensified the search and made arrests to ensure the selling of Chinese manja. However, in the past, there have been several incidents in which both humans and birds have faced fatal injuries due to tangus manja.

Recently, the Hyderabad Task force and City Police arrested a person for selling Chinese manja in the city and seized hundreds of bundles worth Rs 12 lakh after raiding a kite shop near Charminar.

The tradition of flying kites during Makar Sankranti is a tradition of over four centuries. But people flying kites with the banned Chinese manja has been causing injuries and deaths among birds and human beings. The Chinese manja is made of nylon or synthetic thread and is treated with glass and metal to make it sharper.

According to traders and shopkeepers, tangus manja is much cheaper and durable as compared to other thread especially cotton thread. Though it is banned, people prefer only tangus manja. "With the sale of Chinese manja, the business of vendors who do not sell Chinese gets affected naturally as people people to but manja which is much durable and cheaper compared to the normal manja that we sell," said Ramlal, a shopkeeper at Dhoolpet.

However, othere traders claim that even if Chinese manja was banned in 2016, but still it is being manufactured and sold during the festival. The authorities must stop manufacturing banned thread. "Even after being aware that it is hazardous, still there is a huge demand for synthetic thread from the public. If they do not find it in our shop, they purchase it in other shops. We lose out in the sale of kites and other items during festival," says kite-sellers.

The banned Chinese manja, costs between Rs 200 to Rs 500 for a reel of 4,000 metres. The reason behind people using Chinese manja is that it is is more durable when kites get entangled in fights and also because cotton manja is more expensive. The cotton manja is made out of pure cotton thread and a lot of craftsmanship is needed in making the manja.

As per the Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GHSPCA), over 400 birds have been injured due to the tangus manja since 2017. Meanwhile, the Telangana Forest Department has directed the police department to keep an eye on the manufacture, sale and use of Chinese manja. The police have also started conducting search operations at the thread making companies and kite markets.