Once Again, Kite Flyers Causes Disruption In Lucknow Metro Rail Services, FIR Lodged

Lucknow, December 9 (TNA) Despite fervent appeals by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) fr people to desist from kite flying near the Metro corridor, various incidents of overcrowding of the overhead wire with the Chinese manjha have been reported, an official said on Tuesday.

Recently, due to such irresponsible acts services of the metro rail were disrupted. On Monday, the OHE line near Vishwavidyalaya metro station was tripped due to Chinese manjha and the metro services were briefly interrupted for some time.

This short circuit occurred due to the tripping of OHE line damaged the insulator which was changed in the late evening. However, the services were restored by diverting the metro to the second line. The FIR of this incident has been lodged at Mahanagar police station.

In the last 3 years, due to Chinese manjha, 508 such cases have been registered by the Uttar Pradesh Metro whose police complaints have been filed so that disciplinary action can be taken.

The Chinese thread (Manjha) used for flying kites inhibits the quality of being a good conductor of electricity which causes short-circuit and incurs immense damage to the OHE. Additionally, usage of copper wire or a metallic wire embedded with thorns trigger such incidents which become one of the reasons for causing injury to the people and birds.

Due to use of metal in Chinese manjha for kite flying, it disrupts power supply. Copper wires used for starter and motor binding, as well as barbed metal wires, are also used for kite cutting and looting. These methods of kite flying cause severe injury to the throat and eyes of a passer's by and also affect the lives of animals and birds.

Apart from the metro, transmission and distribution of Indian Railways, National Grid and Uttar Pradesh Electricity Department is also being affected. Chinese manjha is a good conductor of electricity due to the use of metal. The OHE line of the metro supplies electricity to a voltage of 25 thousand volts or 25 kV, it can also kill a kite flyer with an electric shock.

Earlier, due to the use of Chinese-thread (Manjha), several people have suffered severe injuries on their throat and eye. Noticing this trend in November 2015, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed at Allahabad High Court considering which stringent action was taken and sale of Chinese thread (Manjha) was banned in Uttar Pradesh. UPMRC has been continuously running various public awareness campaigns through rickshaw-audio-announcement and other sources in the areas where such incidents are reported every day.

The OHE line of the metro supplies the power of 25 thousand volts or a voltage of 25 kV and due to entanglement of the kite, a kite flier can also get an electric shock causing fatal injury or death. Considering such a situation, UPMRC appeals to all the citizens to cooperate in its campaign of halting the usage of Chinese thread or copper wire while flying kites near the metro corridor.

It also requests that as a responsible citizen, people should abstain themselves from flying kites near the metro corridor. It is a punishable offence that damages the property of the country and the common people.