Punjab Police ramps up crackdown on sale of synthetic kite strings

Following a series of hazardous incidents involving synthetic kite strings, commonly known as ‘Chinese manjha’, the Punjab Police is ramping up its operations to take down the sale of the aforementioned strings.

The news comes as a four-year-old boy had to undergo treatment after being entangled with the ‘Chinese manjha’ that led to the toddler getting over 100 stitches on his face a few days ago near Samrala (District Ludhiana). The child reportedly stuck out his face from a car window and got entangled with the string. He has since been hospitalized, according to media reports.

‘Chinese manjha’ reportedly comes from Noida, from where it is transported to Jalandhar and Ludhiana for sale to the entire state, Amritsar-based activist Kirpal Singh Pali stated to media outlets.

“A normal cotton string reel is priced at Rs 400 (1,000 metres) while one can buy 4,000 metres of ‘China dor’ reel at the same price,” Pali added.

In lieu of crackdown operations, more than 10,000 bundles of the ‘Chinese manjha’ have been seized, Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill stated to media outlets.

“Police also took strict action against sellers trading in Chinese kite strings and recovered as many as 10,269 Chinese string bundles after registering 176 FIRs and arresting 188 people,” he added.