Orissa High Court directs collectors to ban sale & use of manja thread  

Cuttack: Orissa High Court today directed the Cuttack district collector to impose a ban on the sale and use of manja (glass coated) thread. The court also asked the district administration to take stringent action against those who either sell or use manja thread.

While conducting a hearing of two Public Interest Petitions (PILs), the High Court bench comprising Chief Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Murahari Sri Raman advised Odisha government to come up with a guideline on the preparation, sale and use of manja by April 3, 2023.

The court also directed the concerned Collectors to take a call on the ban of manja thread in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack during the Hockey World Cup 2023.

There is a tradition of flying kites during the Makar Sankranti in Odisha. However, many people use unsafe kites which cause harm to people, animals and birds. Not only this but there are also instances of people being killed after coming across the manja thread of the kites. Since then several PILs were filed at the court over the ban of such unsafe kite threads.