AWBI advises ban on "Manja"

AWBI advises ban on “Manja”

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Context (IE | IE): The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has advised all states and UTs to amend their respective notifications to “completely prohibit” all harmful sharp threads or “manjha.“
Also, the Delhi HC has directed the Delhi govt. to frame a comprehensive policy for granting compensation to people who have lost their lives and limbs in accidents due to the use of Chinese manjha.
Earlier, in 2017, NGT directed all states/UTs to enforce a “total ban” on such ‘manjha’.

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)

It is a statutory advisory body under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.
It was started under the stewardship of Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale.
It is responsible for animal welfare. Also provides grants for the same.
HQ: Ballabhgarh, Faridabad (Haryana).

AWBI advised against the “manjha,“ made of nylon and other threads gummed or coated with powder glass or metal-coated cotton thread, including non-biodegradable ones.
It advised to permit “only plain cotton” thread for kite flying.
Some states/UTs, including Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Tripura, and Chandigarh, already follow such regulations.
However, the absence of clarity in their respective notifications over threads prompted AWBI advisory.
Such notifications are issued under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.

Manjha is the thread used for kite flying.
Chinese manjha is a glass-coated synthetic string made up of a single fibre of plastic material.
They are domestically produced, contrary to what the name suggests.
It is cheaper and stronger than the cotton manjha.

Synthetic manjha has been a cause of injury to humans and animals in several cases.
Frequent ingestion of Manjha by animals leads to painful, life-threatening complications.
Manja also causes environmental degradation, traffic accidents, and power failures.