PIL in HC to restrict time for kite-flying

New Delhi: After continuing incidents of fatal accidents caused due to the use of "Chinese Manjha" in kites, a Delhi-based engineer has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court asking the judiciary to issue directions restricting the time and place for flying kites.

Delhi resident Mohit Ghalyan, who was himself a victim of the deadly kite string, has filed the PIL through advocate Sanjeev Kumar Ojha, arguing that despite the Delhi government banning the material, its excessive usage continues to cause human and bird casualties.

The PIL also asks the court to direct the Delhi Police Chief to present a report on what future strategy has been undertaken to prevent such incidents in the future.

The petition also noted the danger this thread poses to the metro lines, saying that the day after Independence Day, the Blue Line of Delhi Metro was affected for around 90 minutes due to a technical snag in overhead electrical equipment caused due to kite threads being entangled with overhead electrification at multiple locations.

Ghalyan has also asked that the Delhi Police Cyber Cell be instructed to monitor and control the sale of such material on retail websites like Flipkart and Amazon, where such kite strings continue to be sold.