‘Banned’ plastics make comeback in new avatar

Being a law-abiding citizen, you may not be using the six banned plastic items as well as the prohibited paper thin polythene bag but you can certainly see 'the disgusting thing' flying high over your heads in the guise of a kite. That's right, the below 50 microns thin plastic and the very environmentally hazardous cellophane 'gift wrappers' have found a new avatar: They are being turned into kites! The skies in the central and old parts of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, literally get 'littered' (or you may say, dotted) with plastic kites as soon as the evenings approach, and sometimes even by the afternoon. Such is the sudden zeal for the 'Nawabi' past time that whether it is a lane, crowded road or residential colony, the kite flyers make no note of the suitability of the place or the occasion, but get busy with flying these extremely dangerous 'air devices'. Why I call them flying devices and not kites: because traditionally a kite is supposed to be made of thin eco-friendly paper, supported by 'sootee' or cotton thread that is officially known as majjha. But the 'devices' now being flown are made of environmentally detrimental plastic, cellophane and gift wrappers. The majjha is of glass-coated and even barbed string that is a threat not only to the birds, but any beast or human who happens to get tangled in it. As the colonies in these areas are built mainly of independent houses and not multi storied housing societies, there is a greater risk of mishappenings. The 'cut' kites along with the majjha often land in ways that cause injuries- incidents like a person's hand, face or throat getting slit because he could not see the majjha and got caught in it, a rider getting badly hurt as a result of a suddenly descending kite and majjha, as well as boys falling to their doom in a haste to grab the 'things' are so often reported that everyone, including the administration as well as the government, has stopped taking note of them. To them, maybe keeping this culture alive is more important and profitable than the well-being of this section of the Nation! No one remembers that whenever it comes to doing away with injurious practices, whether Sati, child marriage, polygamy, widow remarriage, women entry into certain temples or the recent triple talaq, our Nation has shown great flexibility. Why then this fixation with kite flying even when the Supreme Court has listed its detrimental effects and warned the states to ensure safety of birds, beasts and humans? Especially in central and old parts of the city, the law of the land seems to be overruled in favour of personal whims and fancies to the extent that one might be forgiven into believing that he is now living in a Kabila! It was not always like that. When did we go back in time...? We need to give it a thought before it is too late.