‘Manja’ thread continues to hurt feathered friends
The fire department also received at least 20 calls from across the city of birds injured due to kite threads made out of nylon, plastic, synthetic or glass coated Chinese ‘manja’
Even as authorities took preventive steps, including banning nylon manja ahead of Makar Sankranti, at least 40 birds injured by the dangerous thread were brought at the RESQ Charitable Trust’s (CT) transit treatment facility at Bavdhan within three days after the festival. The feathered friends were rescued by citizens, forest officials, and the members of the trust. The fire department also received at least 20 calls from across the city of birds injured due to kite threads made out of nylon, plastic, synthetic or glass coated Chinese ‘manja’.
The RESQ facility received over 20 birds within 24 hours of the festival day, January 15, this year.
Birds like crows, pigeons, sparrows, black kites, owls, parrots, and other avian species often fall victim to the deadly manja thread. The illegal sale of such threads and flying kites made of such glass-coated threads have taken many humans as well as bird lives over the years.
While some of the injured birds are rescued and admitted to the treatment facility, many die of dehydration and starvation while others die of grave injuries, including bleeding and bone fractures. The injuries the birds suffer include lacerations, wing injuries, bone fractures, muscle tears, ligament tears, hypothermia, and fluid loss, according to the RESQ facility members.
A ban had been imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2017 on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of manja.
As per the data shared by RESQ CT, the NGO has reported 80 cases of birds with manja injuries between January 1 and January 17, 2024, including 40 cases reported in the last three days.
Nilesh Mahajan, public relations officer, fire brigade department said, “After carefully rescuing the birds from tree branches and wires, we alert either the animal facility at Katraj or the RESQ facility at Bavdhan.”
“We recorded 327 cases of manja injuries in 2023. The issue is that these threads will be seen throughout the year as it is non-degradable and stay stuck in trees and wires,” said Neha Panchamiya, founder-president, RESQ CT, adding that, “we request citizens to remove the threads when they spot them.”
Lokesh Bapat, founder, Tell Us Organization, said, “Every year, members from Tell Us Organization and Maha NGO Foundation conduct manja and kite collection drive at Taljai hills. We collected two big bags of kites and nylon manja stuck in trees or grass from the green belt this year.”