The Delhi government on Monday told the Delhi High Court that it will soon issue a notification to ban the Chinese kite string and allow use of string made only of cotton or other natural fibre for flying kites.
A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal was informed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government that it was in the process of issuing the notification for banning the Chinese 'manja' (string) as it is conscious of injuries caused by kite-flying thread made of nylon.
In its affidavit submitted to the court, the government said: "A draft notification imposing complete ban or the sale, production, storage, supply and use of nylon, plastic and Chinese 'manja' and any other kite-flying thread that is sharp or made sharp by lacing it with glass, metal or other sharp objects in Delhi and allowing kite-flying only with a cotton thread/natural fibre, free from any metallic/glass components was prepared by Delhi government's Environment Department and vetted by its Law Department."
It added: "The proposed draft notification is under process from the competent authority."
The government's response came on a public interest litigation to demand immediate ban on the Chinese kite string.
The petitioner had calloed for a ban on the manufacture, sale, use and purchase of the nylon 'manja', alleging it is "razor sharp" and has caused several deaths across the country and is capable of slicing through the human skin.
Petitioner Zulfiqar Hussain said earlier the victims of the synthetic thread were mostly birds "but now humans are also under threat".
--IANS
gt/tsb/vt
