Ahmedabad: Continuing its drive against the banned Chinese kite-flying rope ahead of Uttarayan, the Ahmedabad Rural Special Operations Group (SOG) has busted a major Chinese rope manufacturing unit and seized materials worth ₹2.34 crore, including 43,000 reels of the banned thread.

During the investigation into the case, in which Chinese kite string worth ₹7.5 lakh was seized earlier from Sanand, the Ahmedabad Rural SOG traced the supply chain to Dadra and Nagar Haveli and conducted a raid at Vandana Industries. During the operation, police recovered a large quantity of banned Chinese kite string, along with machinery and raw material. These banned strings were allegedly being supplied to various locations in Ahmedabad. A case has been registered against the factory owner, Viren Patel, a resident of Vapi.

Police said Chinese rope has been banned across Gujarat as it poses a serious threat to public safety, with several incidents reported in which people suffered severe neck injuries, including fatal cases. The sharp synthetic thread has also been responsible for injuring and killing birds by cutting their wings and legs. Complaints related to the racket have been registered at Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Sanand, Anand and Koth police stations, and further investigation is underway to identify other links involved in the illegal manufacture and supply of the banned material. DeshGujarat