Here's how Gujarat cops prevent manja deaths. Will Mumbai adopt it?

The Gujarat police and local municipal corporation in Surat have taken multipronged initiatives to prevent fatalities and injuries due to glasscoated manja ahead of Makar Sankranti However no such steps have been taken in Mumbai where a constable recently bled to death on the road after his neck was slit by kite string on the Vakola flyover Officials in Surat have tied wires to electric poles to prevent stray kite strings from impacting motorcyclistsSurat traffic cops provide neckbandsThe traffic authorities there meanwhile have banned twowheelers from plying elevated roads and flyovers on January 14 and 15 while the Gujarat police have taken the online route to educate road users Government officials in Surat have also been distributing Rexine neckbands among bikers The sale and purchase of glasscoated Chinese manja have been banned by the authorities concerned but revellers have been arranging for it from adjacent cities or buying it online to win kiteflying eventsSlew of measuresDeputy Commissioner of Gujarat Police Special Branch Hetal Patel said ldquoOur team has joined hands with traffic authorities as well as local municipal corporations to safeguard motorists on the road where their necks are exposed to manja We have also taken the help of social media to spread awareness and discourage the people of Gujarat from flying kites with this stringrdquoA wire strung up between utility poles to ensnare manjaShe added ldquoWe are circulating messages on WhatsApp groups to tell citizens to take certain precautions such as using mufflers scarves and neckbands and installing safety arches on their motorcycles to protect ridersrdquo An NGO in Gujarat has also been roped in to distribute neckbands and other safety gear free of costldquoAbove all we request people not to pop their necks out of their car roofs as this proves lethalrdquo said Patel adding that strict legal action was being taken against manja sellers in the state Amita Vanani DCP traffic Gujarat police said ldquoWe have been spreading the word and running a campaign for the past month to educate people about the safety measures to be taken on the road during Makar SankrantirdquoMotorcycle safety arches the use of which is being promoted by the authorities in SuratShe added ldquoThough we have been distributing neckbands among motorcyclists we will keep all the elevated roads and flyovers shut only for twowheelers on January 14 and 15 We request people especially motorcyclists not to overspeed On every bridge we have deployed police officials to stop motorcyclists from using elevated roadsrdquoBikers reactMotorcyclists in Surat have welcomed the steps that were being taken to preserve their lives ldquoTying wires around light poles to prevent manja from injuring motorcyclists is a great initiative I think this is the first time that the officials concerned have taken such a step But they must remove stray string after the festival otherwise birds will get injuredrdquo said Heer Dumasia a motorcyclist in SuratViraj GhanekarAnother biker Ayush Tiwari said ldquoI would like to thank traffic the officials for disallowing twowheelers on flyovers for two consecutive days when the threat of getting their throat slit is highrdquo He added ldquoThe distribution of neckbands proves that the Gujarat police cares for the life of people on the road Thank you Surat police We have seen people dying on the road as their necks get slit by glasscoated manja These initiatives should be imitated by government officials in all the major cities where similar fatal accidents have taken placerdquoSituation in MumbaiThough the Mumbai police claim to have weeded out all Chinese manja sellers in the city in the wake of the death of 36yearold constable Sameer Jadhav the possibility of shops both real and virtual selling it sporadically at a high cost cant be ruled out After Jadhavrsquos passing the cops started to book kite fliers under the Maharashtra Police Act During intensified efforts in the initial few days after the death the Mumbai police seized manja worth Rs 44450 and imposed fines totalling R14440 under Section 113 of the Bombay Police Act which prohibits flying kitesWhen contacted by midday Pravin Padwal the joint commissioner of police traffic on Thursday evening shared an advisory which mentioned that from January 12 to February 10 there would be a ban on the ldquouse sale and storage of the pucca threads commonly known as nylon manja made of plastic or any such synthetic material which is likely to cause grievous injury to the birds as well as to human beings especially during the festival where kites are flownrdquoThose contravening the order will be punished under Indian Penal Code Section 188 knowingly disobeys an order and thereby causing danger of riot Apart from endangering human life manja poses a grave threat to birds and animals But no initiative has been taken to mitigate the threat by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC in this regardWhen contacted civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal merely said ldquoEvery year the transport commissioner and Mumbai traffic police officials run a road safety drive in the first week of Januaryrdquo When these reporters tried to approach Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar he directed them to speak to the Deputy Commissioner of Road Safety in Maharashtra Bharat Kalaskar but the latter did not respond to their querieslsquoMumbaikars deserve betterrsquoA Mumbaibased motorist Viraj Ghanekar said ldquoThe recent death of the constable was horrible The state government must direct all agencies concerned to join hands to safeguard the people of Mumbai the way officials in Gujarat are doingrdquo ldquoIn Mumbai the roads are really bad in shape There is no motorable stretch in the city and now the stray deadly kite strings are killing motorcyclists We deserve better facilities Above all the onus also lies on those who use deadly manja to fly kites Loose strings are fatal for road users as well as birdsrdquo Ghanekar saidJan 14 15Days bikes are banned on Suratrsquos bridges elevated roads