PETA said the National Green Tribunal had on July 11 imposed a country-wide ban on the use of Chinese strings, made of nylon or any synthetic material which is non-biodegradable, and "its ambit should be expanded to include metal or glass- coated cotton manja which poses threat to life".

It claimed that metal or glass-coated cotton manja can be deadly for animals and humans and it also has an adverse impact on the environment as it may never biodegrade.

The NGT had directed all state governments to prohibit the "manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use" of synthetic manja or nylon threads and all other synthetic strings used for flying kites with immediate effect on the grounds that it posed threat to life and the environment.

It had also ordered the authorities to ban imports of synthetic manja or nylon thread or other similar threads coated with synthetic substances, across the country.

The green panel's judgement had come on a plea filed by PETA, Khalid Ashraf and others, contending that 'manja' posed a grave threat to humans and animals as every year a number of deaths are caused by it.