The hanging strings of death

The festival of kites is a moment to rejoice. But can we afford to celebrate the festival with deadly ‘manjas’ and live wires hanging precariously across the city?

The 13-year-old Nizamuddin died on Monday in Meerpet while trying to untangle his kite. On an average, around 12 young children die each year in kite related mishaps. Sadly, the chances of another such mishap, looms large across the city.

Nizam was flying his kite alone on the second floor of his house, when wind took hold of his kite and crashed atop an electrical pole with tangled live and high tension wires among them. Apparently Nizam had tried to remove the kite from the loose hanging high tension wires using a stick. But he was oblivious of the fact that the stick had iron nails pinned on them, and as the stick came in contact with the wire, the apparent electrocution was enough to take his life away.

Standard power lines carry enough volts of electricity to cause higher degree of burns. But high tension wires kill a human being instantaneously as soon as the person comes in contact with the wire.

According to Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department Andhra Pradesh Building Rules, 2012, issued by the GHMC- In case of sites in the vicinity of high tension electricity transmission lines besides taking other safety precautions, a minimum safety distance (both vertical and horizontal) of 3m shall be maintained between the building and the high tension electricity and 1.5m shall be maintained between the building and the low tension electricity lines.

According to a senior spokesperson from APCPDCL, “There are various sects of rules and guidelines. For low tension wires and medium voltage wires, the minimum distance vertically is eight feet and horizontal distance is four feet. All we can do is appeal to people who are constructing a building and tell them about these details but we are helpless if people do not abide to the norms laid down for their own good.”

On the streets this aspect is widely highlighted. Though tangled wires are banned, it can be seen in every lane of the city. On the contrary, kites related death do not restrict themselves to just electrocution.

Animals

But the perils are not just for humans. According to nationwide statistics released by the forest department, there were 1100 birds injured, 65 dead in kite related injuries this year at the season of Sankranthi. NGOs based in Hyderabad also rescued countless birds, and even continues to. For every celebration and festival, we compromise on humanitarian grounds. Diwali crackers often cause hearing disabilities for animals; holi colours contaminate water and kite threads kills animals.

According to Nihar Parulekar, founder of ARPF, “We ourselves at ARPF rescued around seven birds at Sankranthi. The grave problem we address has been lack of awareness on various environment and ecological system. Festivals often turn into competitions for many, especially the kite festivals. Most people battling with kites succumb themselves on using hard and dangerous threads. These glass studded threads are not only tough but hazardous for them as well as the birds.”

The response that echoed was effortless. “If all of us celebrate our festivals in a very community oriented way and safeguard the interest of our fellow being, then humanity will reach a level of mutual benefit and understanding,” Nihar added.