As We Fly Kites This Makar Sankranti, A Small Choice Can Make Skies Safer for Birds |
Every January, rooftops and open grounds across India come alive with colour as families gather to celebrate Makar Sankranti. The festival is marked by laughter and friendly kite battles.
However, beneath this festive joy lies a troubling reality. For birds, stray animals, and even people on the streets below, the choice of kite string, or manjha, can be the difference between celebration and catastrophe.
Animal activists and bird rescue volunteers have been sounding the alarm for years: Chinese or synthetic manjha, or the nylon or glass‑coated kite strings, injure and kill birds in alarming numbers.
It slices through feathers and wings and leaves many birds unable to fly with lasting damage. And it’s not just birds that pay the price, even kite flyers themselves sometimes end up with deep cuts or worse when these sharp strings whip across streets and injure unassuming passersby.
Traditional cotton manjha is just simple........