Uttarayan 2012 is one month away, but kite flying strings start causing injuries to both human and birds

Ahmedabad/Surat, 13 December 2011

It turned out to be a tragic day for the fourteen years old boy, who received injuries after a stray piece of sharp ‘manja’ string used for flying kites slashed his neck and hands. Malhar Kamalesh Nayak, a 9th standard boy was on his way to home back from the MLP school in southern Gujarat town Bilimora.

After being hurt from sharp string of kite, Malhar tried to remove it but by then he was injured severly. He started bleeding heavily because the string cut his neck.

The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital where he had 75 stitches on his neck and hands. The cuts were so severe and deep that doctors had to operate him in emergency. There was so much bleeding from the neck but still the boy was saved.

Harvindsinh Saradar who was present on the spot, did not wait much and took this boy on his bike to the Snehal hospital located at the society gate. Dr. Ashwin Nayak without waiting much handled him immediately. The boy underwent an operation of 2-3 hours, after which he was declared out of danger.

Doctors say, it could have been very difficult to save Malhar after few minutes of the accident because he was bleeding. Doctors said that not only the kite string slit the boy’s neck, but he also had 27 stitches inside and 41 stitches outside his neck. His hands had 7 stitches. Malhar got a new life by the instant medical treatment.

Every year during and before Uttarayan (14th January which is celebrated as Kite flying day in Gujarat) countless people (especially those riding two-wheelers) receive injury caused by lethal kite flying strings in their neck and hands. Some injuries are so serious and deep that victims even die.

In Surat, the civic authority close a bridge on Uttarayan day to save two-wheelers from lethal manja.

Birds suffer more injury compare to humans during these days of kite flying. In Ahmedabad’s Jiv Daya Hospital, the season has started with first White Rumped Vulture, heavily injured by lethal kite string arrived last week with severe bleeding. But this is just the first case of the season. Come Uttarayan and there will be dozens of birds arriving here almost every day for a week!

Gujarat govt has banned Chinese string lately, but even road-side common desi ‘manja’ strings coated with powder of glasses are considered equally lethal.