symbolic photo
Four people, including a four-year-old boy, died after their throat was cut by a kite string during the Uttarayan festival in Gujarat on Tuesday. Police officials informed that one person each died in Rajkot, Panchmahal, Mehsana and Surendranagar districts, while several people were reported injured across the state.
Kunal Parmar (4) died due to excessive bleeding after his neck was cut by the kite string in Halol town of Panchmahal district. He was going with his father on a motorcycle to buy kites and balloons from the market when suddenly a piece of Manjha got stuck in his neck, causing a deep wound on his neck. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but he died during treatment. Meanwhile, Mansaji Thakor (35), a farmer in Vadnagar taluka of Mehsana district, also died in the same manner. He was going to his village Vadbar on a motorcycle when his neck was cut by the kite string. He was taken to the hospital, but he also died during treatment. Another man, Ishwar Thakor (35), was also seriously injured by the kite string and died on the outskirts of Rajkot district. Apart from this, a similar tragic incident also came to light in Patdi taluka of Surendranagar district, in which an unidentified person died due to injury on his neck from a manja.
Emergency calls on Uttarayan
GVK EMRI, which operates 108 ambulance services in the state, has reported an increase in emergency calls on Uttarayan this year. A total of 3,707 emergency calls were received till 6 pm on January 15, while the number was 3,362 on the same day in 2024. These incidents mainly included cases of being cut from the rafters and falling from the roof while flying kites.
The manjha, made of nylon or coated with crushed glass, is so sharp that it can cause fatal wounds. Despite being banned, kite enthusiasts use it to cut the kites of their opponents.
On Monday, the state government, in response to a petition, had informed the Gujarat High Court that a total of 609 FIRs were registered and 612 persons arrested for alleged manufacturing, sale and storage of Chinese Manjha and glass-coated Manjha ahead of Uttarayan. These were completely banned in a notification dated December 24, 2024, but they still found their way into the hands of kite enthusiasts. (with language input)
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