NEW DELHI // Two children and a man have died in the Indian capital after their throats were slit by glass-covered strings used for flying kites during Independence Day celebrations, police said on Wednesday.
The tragedies prompted the Delhi government to issue an immediate ban on the production, sale and storage of the razor sharp strings that are used to try to cut down competitors’ kites.
The government said anyone caught with the strings, known locally as manjha, faced a five-year jail term and a 100,000 rupee (Dh548.70) fine.
The children, aged four and six, died in separate incidents in New Delhi on Monday after they looked out of the sunroof of their cars.
They “were looking out of the sunroofs when they entangled in the deadly threads”, said Pushpender Kumar, west Delhi’s deputy police commissioner.
A 22-year-old man also died in the same way while he was riding his motorbike on a flyover in the capital.
No one has been arrested over the deaths.
Another five-year-old child and a policeman were badly injured in other incidents involving the strings.
Kite flying is hugely popular on Independence Day, with the sky dotted with kites often painted in the colours of the Indian flag and attached to long strings.
The Delhi high court last week directed the city government to raise awareness of the dangers of the strings, saying there had been a raft of deaths in recent years in Delhi and two neighbouring states.
Some states have already banned such strings following accidents.
* Agence France-Presse