Ludhiana: The Punjab police on January 8 issued an advisory banning the manufacture, sale and use of Chinese kite flying string in the state, coming on the heels of Ujjain police's crackdown on Chinese 'manjha' sellers. But even after the strict ban, a four-year-old received 120 stitches on his face after a Chinese manjha sliced the child's face.
A student of nursery from Ludhiana, Harjit, who was heading to Katana Sahib, peaked out of the car's window to see a kite when another 'DMC manjha' sliced his face and left him in a pool of blood. The child was rushed to a private hospital from where he was referred to MC Hospital. The hospital administration said that the child was brought in a bad condition and the doctors had to operate on the child immediately, and the child sustained 120 stitches on his face.
Earlier on Saturday, a three-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man died in different cities of Gujarat amid Uttarayan celebrations after their throats were slit by the kite string, police said. Krishna Thakor (3) was killed after a kite string gashed her neck while she was walking home with her mother in Visnagar town in Mehsana district in the afternoon, police said. "She was declared dead on arrival at the government hospital," police said.
Also read: Punjab bans sale of Chinese kite manjha
In another incident, Swamiji Yadav died after his neck was slit by a kite string when he was riding a motorcycle in Chhani locality in Vadodara city. "Yadav was riding a two-wheeler when a kite string cut his throat killing him instantly," a policeman from Chhani Police Station informed. Meanwhile, officials of the 108 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system said several cases of people suffering injuries by kite strings have been reported throughout the day across Gujarat. In separate incidents caused by kite strings, some people fell off vehicles. Instances of people falling off terraces while flying kites and getting injured were also reported, EMS officials added.
As per data, while 62 persons sustained kite string injuries, 164 were hurt after falling from heights and 400 sustained wounds in road accidents statewide till 5 pm on Saturday. These figures include 25 cases of kite string injuries, 56 road accidents and injuries in 36 cases caused by the fall from heights in Ahmedabad, they said, adding these numbers were likely to rise as the day progresses and more reports come in. "Several birds and animals were also injured due to kite strings. As per the data collated from calls made to helpline numbers, 336 birds and 723 animals sustained injuries," officials said.
