Bilaspur:The Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the death of a seven-year-old boy and incidents of injuries received by others, including a woman lawyer, who has also faced cut from Chinese manja, and questioned the government over its failure to enforce a ban on open sale of manja in the market.
"Why is Chinese manja available in the market despite the notification of the ban by the state government? Why could this Act not be implemented? What compensation has been given in the incidents that have happened?" the bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court questioned the government.
During the hearing on this issue in Chhattisgarh High Court on Monday, a double bench heard the case and observed that incidents related to Chinese manja are very dangerous. The court reprimanded the government on how is Chinese manja available in the market despite the notification of the ban. The HC also sought a reply from the state chief secretary on the issue.
The court asked why the state government was not able to enforce the ban and what compensation was provided to the victim's family. It was highlighted that a woman lawyer was also injured in a similar incident. The court sought details of previous incidents and actions taken by the state government. The high court fixed the next hearing in the case on January 29.
Besides these two cases, a few other similar cases also came up for discussion during the hearing in the court. The death of a seven-year-old boy, who accidentally came into contact with a Chinese manja, evoked an outcry and became the main trigger. The incident happened when he was riding a bike with his father in the Tikrapara area. During this, he received a deep cut on his neck by Chinese manja. He was instantly rushed to the hospital where he died during treatment on Monday. In January, Purnsha Kaushik, a woman lawyer, was injured by Chinese manja. Kaushik was going on a scooter on the expressway near Pandri Mall when a Chinese manja got stuck in her neck. The incident resulted in a long cut on the neck.
Govt crackdown on sale
While removing the manjha, the thumb of the female lawyer was also cut. In December last year, a NEET student fell on the ground after getting injured when he came into contact with a Chinese manja. At a time when such incidents are on the rise in Chhattsgarh, the high court's reprimand of Chhattisgarh government regarding the action taken on the sale of Chinese manja became a cause of embarrassment for authorities. Following this, authorities launched a crackdown on two kite shops where kites with Chinese manja are being sold indiscriminately in the state. On Monday, on the instructions of Collector Gaurav Kumar Singh, the revenue staff of the Municipal Corporation raided the kite shops and seized eight bundles of Chinese manja. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Avinash Singh formed a team of revenue officers of the zone and raided the kite shops of the city.
The team of the revenue department of the Municipal Corporation raided Satti Bazaar shops located in ward number 45 of zone 4 Swami Vivekanand Sadar Bazar ward. Sanjay Kite Shop has been sealed for operating the shop without a license. Two kite shops near Shyam Talkies and Budhatalaab located in zone 4 were found closed during the raid.
