Delhi shopkeepers not to sell Chinese manja, kites for Independence Day celebrations this year

In view of the prevailing tensions between Indian and China over the bloody Galwan Valley clashes, the shop owners at Lal Kuan, the largest wholesale hub for kites in the national capital, have decided to not sell Chinese glass-coated manja and colourful kites for Independence Day celebrations this year.

NEW DELHI: In view of the prevailing border tension between India and China over the bloody Galwan Valley clashes, the shop owners at Lal Kuan - the largest wholesale hub for kites in the national capital - have decided to not sell Chinese glass-coated Manja and colourful kites for the Independence Day celebrations this year.

Instead, the shop owners here are themselves encouraging the customers to buy the locally made items, which is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent ''Vocal For Local'' call to promote ‘Made In India’ brands.

According to Zee Media reports, the shop owners at Lal Kuan have taken this initiative to discourage the sale of Chinese products and have appealed to customers to buy only goods made in the country and promote 'Made In India'.

As a result of this initiative, the local buyers are rejecting the Chinese products and goods and insisting on buying only home-made items.

With just three days left for the Independence Day celebrations to begin, the kite market in Delhi’s Lal Kuan is dull also due to the coronavirus scare.   

There has been a tradition of flying kites on this day every year but due to the COVID-19 scare and India-China border row, the locals are not too keen to go to the market to buy kites. 

When the Zee News team talked to the local shopkeepers about whether the Chinese kites and Manja are being sold in the market, a shopkeeper named Rahul said, “you will not find Chinese kites and Manja at any shop in this market this year. 

“Due to India-China border tensions, the local shopkeepers have decided not to encourage the sale of Chinese Manja and dragon kites this year. This is also in line with the PM’s recent appeal to make India self-reliant,” he added.

Every year on August 15, Chinese goods worth millions are sold in the Lal Kuan kite market, but this time it will not be business as usual.

Shortly after the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre banned at least 59 Chinese Apps, the Calcutta High Court had prohibited the usage of Chinese Manja (a type of nylon thread coated with powdered glass used for flying kites). 

The decision was taken after multiple accidents and deaths were reported throughout the Kolkata city due to the use of the Chinese Manja in kite flying.

Several state governments had earlier banned the use of Chinese Manja, a nylon thread coated with powdered glass, as it poses threat to humans and other living beings and has led to many fatalities.

Despite a ban, there has been limited awareness and subsequent decrease in its use across the country. The bikers continue to suffer as they entangled in the Chinese Manja mostly on their neck and face leading to serious wounds.

According to kite sellers, the Chinese Manja is costlier than the normal cotton strings and is mostly imported from cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, Surat and Bangalore and is sold illegally in other states.

The AAP government in Delhi had earlier imposed a ban on manufacture, sale, use and purchase of ‘Chinese Manja’, alleging that it is “razor-sharp” and had caused several deaths across the country as it is capable of cutting human flesh.