609 FIRs filed, 612 people held in Gujarat in crackdown on lethal kite-flying items: HC told

Ahmedabad, Jan 13 (PTI) A total of 609 FIRs have been filed and 612 individuals arrested in Gujarat for manufacturing, selling and stocking prohibited items such as nylon threads, lantern and glass-coated threads in run up to the Uttarayan festival, the government told the High Court on Monday.

In an affidavit submitted in response to a PIL seeking the HC direction to prohibit the use of nylon threads (Chinese manjha), strings coated with glass and other harmful substances for flying kites during the festival on January 14, the State Home Department said between January 9 and 12, police lodged FIRs against 99 manufacturers, 50 stockists and 404 sellers of these items across Gujarat.

Prohibited items worth Rs 23.75 lakh have also been impounded, it informed the court.

Through a notification dated December 24, 2024, the state government imposed a complete ban on the manufacturing and sale of Chinese lantern, nylon and plastic dori (threads) and threads coated with glass and other harmful substances.

The department said starting January 10, social media platforms of city police establishments and other state authorities are being used to send out audio-visual messages against use of prohibited items, including threads with glass coating, in compliance with the court's January 10 order.

Visual messages have also been published in print media from January 11 onwards, it said.

Police carried out surprise inspections and raids in major locations where Uttarayan-related products were available for sale, the affidavit stated.

"In urban centres such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara and Bhavnagar, such surprise inspections have been carried out more than once in a day, and even during the late-night hours," it said.

As many as 609 FIRs have been filed and 612 individuals arrested in run up to the festival for manufacturing, selling and stocking prohibited items linked to the festival in the state, according to the affidavit.

In an order dated January 10, a division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal had directed the government to take all possible steps to find out the manufacturers of prohibited items and nab them by conducting raids in a timely manner.

Gujarat celebrates Makar Sankranti as Uttarayan (on January 14) and the harvest festival is marked by people flying kites from their terraces and rooftops.

Advocate Nimish Kapadia, representing the petitioner in the 2017 PIL, said the court posted the matter for hearing in September to provide sufficient time to prepare for next year's Uttarayan.

The court also directed the government to consult petitioners to come up with a concrete plan for a permanent solution to the issue of use of glass-coated threads and other harmful substances for kite flying by revellers.

The petitioner had earlier brought to the court's notice that the advertisement notifying the ban as per the affidavit dated January 10 did not indicate prohibition on synthetic/nylon threads, cotton and other threads coated with glass and other harmful substances.

"The advertisement only refers to 'Chinese dori', which does not give correct and complete picture of the ban to the public at large," the court noted.

The bench directed the government to make necessary corrections in the advertisement and hoardings to incorporate names of all prohibited substances as indicated in the Government Resolution dated December 24, 2024.

Revellers celebrate Uttarayan by gathering in large numbers on terraces and rooftops to fly kites of various colours. Use of Chinese manjha and glass-coated threads for kites have posed a serious risk to humans, animals and birds.

In the past, several incidents of people getting killed and seriously injured after being entangled in glass-laced kite strings have been reported during the festival in Gujarat. PTI KA RSY