The Delhi government has banned the Chinese-made 'maanjha' – sharp kite strings often coated with glass or metal – after two children from the Capital died when they got entangled in them while looking out of the sunroofs of their cars on Independence Day. A 22-year-old biker also died in similar fashion, while several other injuries were reported on August 15. Kite-flying is a popular activity on Independence Day around the country.

In the first incident, three-year-old Saanchi Goyal got slashed in the neck by a metal-coated kite string in Rani Bagh while she and her parents were on their way home from Naraina. She succumbed to her injuries, a police official said. In the second case, a four-year-old named Harry was returning from a mall in Subhash Nagar with his family when he got entangled in the kite string from the sunroof of their Swift Dzire.

In West Delhi’s Vikaspuri area, a 22-year-old biker, Zafar Khan, died from kite string injuries while travelling on a city flyover. Police sub-inspector Manoj Kumar was hurt after a string grazed his neck while he was riding his two-wheeler near Cross River Mall in the city.

According to NDTV, the Delhi High Court had on August 8 asked the Aam Aadmi Party government for suggestions to prevent accidents caused by the Chinese kite string on Independence Day. The government had informed the court that it needed more time to implement a ban, saying a draft notification was in the public domain. The court was hearing a petition on the manufacture, sale, use and purchase of the nylon 'maanjha'.

In a separate petition, filed with the National Green Tribunal, animal rights organisation PETA had also demanded an immediate ban on the use of the string ahead of Independence Day as several animals and birds sustain serious and sometimes fatal injuries from them, The Indian Express reported.