Now, a 5-yr-old girl is victim of banned Chinese kite string

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 8

As the 5-year-old Pihu’s mother sits out in open taking the little girl in her lap, she peeps through her bandaged forehead and eyes and tells her mom, “I do not want to gaze at the sky. Now, I hate watching those colourful kites. Their patterns no longer amuse me.”

The cute filly is the latest victim of the Chinese kite strings. A resident of Preet Nagar, she along with her parents was on a scooter on Sunday, when the manjha cut through her face inflicting serious injuries.

Even though at least three children have received grievous injuries due to the use of banned Chinese kite strings, the district administration and the city police are yet to wake up from the slumber and nab the traders involved in its indiscriminate sales.

After 11-year-old Ankur had sustained nearly 90 per cent burn injuries due to an electric shock after his kite’s string got entangled with an overhead high-tension wire in Jhansi Nagar last Tuesday and his friend ,too, got injured, Pihu is the third victim to get injured in a span of just one week. Standing in front while her father was at the wheel, a kite string slashed across her face. Before she could raise an alarm and the scooter could be stopped, the damage was already done by then.

Her father Rakesh said he saw blood gushing from her forehead and the left side of her eyes. Hearing their screams, people from around the area immediately came to their help. “We took her to two hospitals, but it was Sunday and there was no staff. We could not get cotton pads…no medical aid for good 25 minutes. Then we rushed to Kamal Hospital where paediatrician Dr Anubhav Gupta immediately attended to her. Her wounds were sutured with 15 stitches on her face. She remained at the hospital and we finally got her home this afternoon.”

Pihu’s mother, Sonia, alleges, “The use of Chinese strings is so rampant that everyone is using them despite being aware of its repercussions. I really thank God that the string passed just above her eyes and there has been no loss of vision. Doctor is telling us that her scars would heal up well.”

Rakesh adds, “Today, it was my daughter. Tomorrow, it can be another child and can be fatal too. So, why are the governments, MLAs, councillors, civil and police administration not waking up? Why can’t they implement a proper ban? Why these strings are so openly available in the markets and the police not even keeping a check? Why is everyone so indifferent to this menace?”

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, however, maintains, “We have been conducting raids daily, confiscating Chinese string rolls and lodging FIRs against the traders indulging in the sales of the banned item.”