The next date for hearing the matter is September 6.

The petition pointed out that manjha – which is often coated with glass, metal, or other sharp objects – poses a lethal threat to humans and animals alike.

“On August 15 this year, three people including two children aged 3 years were killed when their throats were slashed by manjha. In July 2016, a motorcyclist in Ghaziabad died when a sharp manjha slit his throat, a man in East Delhi died in a similar way in August 2015, and a 5-year-old boy, who was riding a motorbike with his father, died in Chennai in 2015,” noted the petition.

“Life-threatening risk”

“Manjha is a menace to public safety, posing life-threatening risk to humans and birds alike and damaging country’s infrastructure and hindering essential services such as electricity,” said PETA India government affairs liaison Nikunj Sharma.

“PETA India is calling on authorities to make kite flying enjoyable and safe for everyone by banning manjha and allowing only plain cotton threads,” he added.

A release issued by the group noted that thousands of birds are also killed every year when they get entangled in manjha.

A bird hospital in Delhi treated 500 birds between August 15 and 18 and it said it expected the number to reach 1,000. A bird rescuer in Ahmedabad estimated that 2,000 birds – including pigeons and endangered species such as vultures – were injured every year during the city's Uttarayan festival, and 500 of them died from injuries. According to estimates, more than 300 birds were injured and over 100 died because of manjha during Makar Sankranti in Hyderabad in 2015.

Blackouts, electrocution

PETA’s petition also stated that manjha causes blackouts and electrocutes kite flyers.

Earlier, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has also issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories asking them to address the manjha threat, and the Animal Welfare Board of India has written to all States and Union Territories urging them to ban manjha.