Ferozepur, January 19, 2018: Do you know the banned Chinese kite flying string ( China Dor ) has nothing to do with China ? If not then read this Babushahi investigative news.
In fact, it is the yard, staple fibre, man-made filaments etc. that are imported. It is a misconception that Chinese manja is imported from China. However, the students in the state have started a campaign to say ‘No” to Chinese thread.
It is also not necessary the nylon thread used to make manja is from China, it can be from elsewhere also, said on condition of anonymity, an Import and Export agent.
Kite flying, a typically India sport whose fun factor is best illustrated in Munshi Premchand’s Bade Bhai Sahab, won’t be fun anymore, with the entry of Chinese thread known as killer string in the market.
In fact, the demand for Chinese thread has grown many times in the last few years. The kite flyers now ask only for Chinese thread as it is cheaper than the cotton thread and difficult to break. After coating masala on it, Chinese manja become tougher and stronger than the traditional ones. Till now it is easily available in the market and there is enough stock with the kite sellers despite the ban by the government.
With the complete ban on manufacturing, sale, production, storage, supply and use of kite flying thread made from Chinese Manja, nylon plastic or any other synthetic material in the state, an awareness campaign has, however, been started by the students in the state to say ‘No’ to Chinese thread.
Inder Singh Gogia, President said, it will be extremely difficult to have a total ban on the sale and use of Chinese thread unless and until there is a strong vigilance and monitoring by the police.
However, according to the local market sources, with the ban on the sale of Chinese thread, it may not be sold in the open but kite flyers may procure it fro a black market by paying a premium.
Vijay Victor – environment lover say, flying kites is a big traditional festival in various parts of India. Earlier, kite flyers used cotton thread manja, which is breakable, unlike Chinese manja. The latter one is fatal due to its high tensile strength. It is not just humans, even thousands of birds either die or get injured due to manja. The so-called Chinese manja should be totally banned.
Kite-flying festival is one of the important festivals of Punjab and people far-off places come to their hometown to celebrate this event but the use of Chinese thread has the adverse effect on human beings, cattle population, birds, soil and ecology.
( HT File photo of China Dor )
However, a campaign among the students to say ‘No’ to Chinese thread has been stated in Ferozepur District. Speaking at the morning assembly session of the school, Jagdip Pal Singh, Principal at Govt. Sr Sec School, Mehma in Ferozepur district, apprised the students about the side-effects of use of Chinese thread. He said we have to stop the tradition of purchasing the foreign material for celebrating the festivals which are not only harmful; the Indian currency is also transferred to those countries.
We should adopt the self-help profession and we can celebrate the festivals in a better way to create work opportunities for our youths which will not only perk up their financial condition but will also help in improving the economic condition of our country, he added.
Techniques for preparing the thread for kite flying were also given to the students by Brij Bhushan, the Hindi teacher.