THREAD OF HOPE
manjha with a standard string, it broke after 96 smooth cuts. The nylon manjha took 18,000 cuts to break,” he says.
However, this very strength is also why the nylon string is considered dangerous by the authorities. The rise in its popularity was accompanied by an increase in manjha-related mishaps, with over 30 such instances being recorded in Bareilly alone. Finally, the Allahabad high court issued a ban on the sale of nylon manjha in November 2015.
However, due to the authorities’ laxity in implementing the ban, nylon manjha continues to be sold openly. Two children were killed in neighbouring Delhi last August when their throats were slit by strings of kites being flown as part of a competition.
Traders say they can’t stop selling the nylon manjha just because of the ban. “Majboori hai, nahi bechenge tho khayenge kya? Agar sarkar me himmat hai to ye manjha banane wali company ko band karwa de (We have our limitations… what will we eat if we do not sell these strings? If the government has the courage, it must ban the firms that produce nylon manjha),” remarks Ali.
One can see the logic in his statement; the bans talk only of selling nylon manjha, not their manufacture. In fact, Karnataka, which banned the sale of the product in July 2016, happens to be its manufacturing hub. The biggest synthetic manjha maker – Mono Kite – is based in state capital Bengaluru.
Mono Kite general manager Yogesh Saxena admits that Uttar Pradesh is their biggest market, but denies reports that their product is dangerous. “Our manjha is completely biodegradable. We care for nature as well as our customers,” Saxena tells HT over the phone, adding that their nylon string is made with machines imported from Germany in adherence to strict research and guidelines. Though sales have taken a hit after the bans, the company still produces six to eight tonnes of nylon manjha every month. “The ban is on the sale of manjha, not its production,” he says.