Lecturer, child injured from plastic kite string in Ludhiana

A college lecturer and a seven-year-old child suffered serious injuries from the banned China-made plastic kite string in Ludhiana, said officials.

They were both taken to a hospital, where doctors say they are out of danger and their condition is stable.

According to the information available, Dipika Raichan, a lecturer at Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, was heading home on her scooter when a plastic thread tangled around her face. The incident happened on Tuesday.

Before she could understand what was going on and take corrective steps, the thread dug into her face and left deep wounds just below her lips. She was rushed to the nearby hospital.

In the second another incident, a child was seriously injured after getting entangled in a China-made string on Lohri.

The thread got caught in the child’s foot, causing a gash in his heel. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital in critical condition, where he received stitches. Doctors say he is currently stable.

His father said the minor was standing at the doorstep of their house in the afternoon when a vehicle passed through the street. It had a long piece of the thread hanging from it. “No one realised that this dangling thread would lead to such a major incident. As the vehicle passed, the thread was tangled in his foot,” he said. The driver, unaware of the thread, continued driving forward and the child was injured.

Hearing the child’s screams, his father rushed outside and found him bleeding. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital.

Despite a ban on these plastic strings, they were easily available as people geared up for Lohri festivities.

Most youngsters could be seen flying kites with the deadly thread.

Intensified crackdown

As the police intensified the crackdown on these strings, their market price jumped to Rs 500 from the usual Rs 350.

While the police booked and arrested some shopkeepers for selling the banned string, they could not trace the manufacturers and distributors.