More than 60 birds injured by kite strings rescued in Mumbai

Animal activists have rescued more than 60 birds injured by kite ‘manjha’ in Mumbai as part of a three-day drive during the Makar Sankranti celebrations, a wildlife welfare group representative said.

Despite a ban on the sale and manufacture of Chinese manjha across various states in India, the use of nylon and glass-coated strings persists and they are discarded irresponsibly by people, he said.

During a three-day camp organised from January 13 to 15 by the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) and RiWild, more than 60 injured birds were rescued across the city, RAWW fonder Pawan Sharma said.

Some birds died before they could be rescued, while some did not survive by the time they were taken in for treatment due to the nature of injuries caused by manjha, he said.

The rescued birds were being medically examined and many were scheduled for surgeries and further rehabilitation, a RiWild representative said.

“We have been recovering and disposing of the manjha found at different places so that it does not claim the lives of more birds,” said Sharma.