A two-wheeler rider was injured after a kite’s manja thread caught his neck and hand on the Hegde Nagar flyover in Bengaluru, highlighting the continuing road-safety risk posed by the banned string in the city.
The incident occurred five days before the report was published, when children were flying a kite fitted with manja thread. As the rider travelled across the flyover, the thread stretched across the road and struck him. He suffered injuries to his neck and hand and was left struggling in the middle of the road.
Local residents took the rider to a hospital, where he received treatment. The children who had been flying the kite reportedly left the location after the incident.
The incident took place within the limits of the Sampigehalli police station. Police officials said that no complaint had been registered in connection with the injury at the time of the report.
Manja is a sharp, abrasive string used for kite flying and has been prohibited because it can injure pedestrians, two-wheeler riders and birds. When it becomes stretched across a road, the thread can be difficult for approaching riders to see, particularly amid moving traffic.
The Bengaluru incident also shows how enforcement challenges can continue even after a restriction is announced. The police said that some people were still using manja thread to fly kites despite the ban. Officials warned that action would be taken against those found using it.
The report did not specify the rider’s identity, the precise nature of the medical treatment or whether police later registered a case. It also did not identify the children involved or state where the kite was being flown from.
Police action against the use of manja thread remains the next official step following the incident. Any further complaint, case registration or enforcement action would determine whether the episode leads to proceedings under the applicable restrictions on the string.
