Chinese manja being sold on sly as govt goes into sleep mode

In the past, several incidents took place in which both humans and birds were injured fatally after being struck with Chinese manja

Hyderabad: With Sankranti fast approaching and due to lack of enforcement from state government, once again, illegal sale of Chinese manja continues unabated across the city’s kite market that includes areas such as Begum Bazaar, Dhoolpet, General Bazar -Secunderabad and Mangalhat. City dealers are selling the banned manja through backdoor channels.

According to the sources, in view of the Sankranti festival, wholesale dealers stocked up Chinese manja as far as two months ago and have recently started distributing to retail vendors. It is very difficult to identify which one is synthetic manja, as threads of Chinese manja are hidden in rolls of cotton manja.Despite the ban by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2016, the sales of the product continue.

The Chinese manja that poses grave threat is easily available in the market due to lack of proper enforcement from the state government, as only closing few illegal units, that too during festive season, is not sufficient.In the past, there have been several incidents in which both humans and birds have faced fatal injuries due to Chinese tangus manja. The Chinese manja is made of nylon or synthetic thread and is treated with glass and metal to make it sharper.

“Despite the ban, there hasn’t been much of a difference amongst many manufacturers and retailers, and with only a month left for the festival, they have started stocking up similar to every year.

The business of cotton dealers will also be affected, as customers prefer Chinese manja, as it is durable and cheaper compared to the normal manja.It costs between Rs 200 to Rs 500 for a reel of 4,000 m, while the cotton manja is more expensive, as it is made of pure cotton and a lot of craftsmanship is needed in making the manja. Due to the non-availability of trained craftsmen in the city, many are preferring Chinese manja”, said K Krishna, a shopkeeper at Dhoolpet.

A few traders stated that authorities must ban the manufacturing of Chinese manja. Even after being aware that it is hazardous, still there is a huge demand for synthetic thread from the public and due to this,the business of other traders is at loss.

Meanwhile, according to Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GHSPCA), over 400 birds have been injured due to the Chinese manja from 2017-2023, with 174 birds injured during last year alone.