Sharp kite strings have killed three people in India in a single day, according to police.
A 4-year-old boy had his throat slit while he was looking out of a car’s sunroof and a 22-year-old man received a lethal cut on his neck while riding a motorbike on August 15, according to Pushpendra Kumar, the deputy commissioner of the West Delhi Police.
The same day, a 3-year-old girl looking out the sunroof was strangled by a kite string which cut her neck, according to a deputy commissioner of North West Delhi Police.
All three were killed by Manja, a type of kite string made with glass.
Officials in Delhi are now moving to ban any sharp kite strings.
“Chinese manja and other kite flying thread which is made of glass, sharp material is dangerous,” Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, said in a tweet. “Safety of our citizens is non-negotiable.”
Nikunja Sharma, the government liaison for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is supportive of the ban as manjas can injure animals.
According to Sharma, a bird hospital in Old Delhi have treated 500 birds in the past few days because of the kite thread. There’s usually a spike around India’s Independence day because people like to fly kites in celebration.
“They will ban it for sure,” he said.
