Faridkot, March 1
A 19-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman, who suffered severe burns after a Chinese kite string (manjha or dor) got tangled in the power cables, succumbed to their injuries in Kotkapura town yesterday.
The deceased have been identified as Satnam Singh and Ramandeep Kaur of Bahmana Wala Road.
The two had suffered more than 70 per cent burns and were shifted to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital last week where they died on Sunday evening.
According to family sources, Satnam was using “banned” Chinese string (manjha) for kite flying on rooftop and the string, a good conductor of electricity, came in contact with an 11 kV overhead cable, causing electrocution and severe burns. The string subsequently came in contact with an iron rod on the roof of an adjoining house and the current travelled downward, causing burns to Ramandeep Kaur, who was working in the kitchen.
Made of nylon threads and coated with chemicals such as lead, Chinese tensile string is stronger than cotton strings available in the market and is a good conductor of electricity, causing electrocution if it comes in contact with electricity wires.
Officially there is a prohibition on the sale of the string, but it is readily available due to its low cost and high profit margins.
Popular among kids, the string could cause severe injury to the eyes and throat of passersby as well as kill birds and animals, said Sandeep Arora, convener of Society for Environment and Ecological Resources (SEER), which organises camps in schools every year to dissuade the students from using the string.
The use of the ‘banned’ string for kite-flying has left many, including bike rides and birds, injured. Holding meetings with school students, Gurpreet Singh Chandbaja, president, Bhai Kanahiya Cancer Roko Society, said the string was made of plastic-like material and stretched on being pulled.
“Due to a shortage of open spaces and grounds, kite-flyers rely on rooftops to fly kites, increasing the chances of the string coming in contact with power cables,” said Vikas Arora, a schoolteacher in Faridkot. — TNS
Lurking danger
- Made of nylon threads and coated with chemicals such as lead, Chinese tensile string is stronger than regular cotton strings
- Being a good conductor of electricity, it can cause electrocution if it comes in contact with electricity wires
Chinese kite string kills 2 in Kotkapura
{$excerpt:n}
