Chinese ''manja'' deaths: Delhi govt seeks action against Environment Secretary

New Delhi: After Delhi on Monday witnessed a spate of incidents where many lost their lives in freak incidents involving Chinese `manja`, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung seeking action against Environment Secretary Chandraker Bharti for `gross negligence in duty and insensitiveness in Chinese manja case`.

According to the draft notification issued by Environment Secretary Chandraker Bharti, kite flying will be permissible only with a cotton thread and natural fibre free from any metallic and glass components.

In a series of tweets, Sisodia said:

Writing to LG requesting him to action against Environment Secretary for gross negligence in duty & insensitiveness in chinese manja case1/3

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 16, 2016

Environment Secretary took 7days to issue notification though file was cleared by my & Env Minster's office within minutes on 9th Aug 2/3

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 16, 2016

Chinese manja and other kite flying thread which is made of glass, sharp material is dangerous. Safety of our citizens is non-negotiable 3/3

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 16, 2016

A three-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy lost their lives after the stray metal-coated kite strings got entangled in their necks on Independence Day.

The incidents, along with several others, have, however, prompted the Delhi government to ban nylon, plastic and Chinese manja and any other sharp kite-flying thread.

According to the police, the girl, Saanchi Goyal, was returning home with her parents after watching a movie when the incident occurred.

As they reached Rani Bagh road at around 7 pm, the girl expressed a desire to see outside from the roof window of the car they were travelling in when her neck got stuck in a manja.

The parents took the girl to a nearby hospital, but she was declared brought dead.

The other kid, identified as Harry, died in a similar incident when a kite string grazed his neck and inflicted fatal injury on him while he was looking out of a car in west Delhi`s Tilak Nagar area on Monday evening.