Makar Sankranti kite-flying festival: NGOs race to save birds caught in deadly manjha, fewer mishaps this year

Mirror Now

Updated Jan 14, 2019 | 20:06 IST | Kirti Pandey

Bird rescuers have a tough time every year, pleading with people to not use glass powder-coated killer manjha to fly kites as that it imperils human and bird lives. Every year hundreds of birds get entangled.

Mumbai:  Bird rescuers are hard at work on Makar Sankranti day every year as kite flying activity puts many a bird lives in danger. But bird rescuers have some heartening news. There have been fewer accidents involving birds this year and people seem to be paying heed to humanitarian calls, say some social workers.

The kite festival of Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti) is a mega event in the festivals calendar of western Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and even north-western state of Rajasthan. As the Sun enters into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn), it is also considered the arrival of spring in India. Winds are abundant, harvests are done and over the ages, the tradition of kite flying during Uttarayan became very popular.

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