[Dieseldunk]

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

I am at the end of my wits with what's going on in this forum.
Don't get me wrong (especially the mods!) Does that mean we ban a festival? A completely logical question: you ride a bike, you meet with an accident, you die. Should we ban motorcycles? No. You take precautions.
P.S. - I will fly kites, come what may.

Well I would like to get into this for one last time since could not resist from giving my view of differentiaton of accident and an act of negligence.

by definition- accident happens by pure randomness and due to uncontrolled factors (tyre burst/sudden brake fail/skids due to slippery roads- fresh oil spill etc)
None of ride a vehicle with the intention or hope of eagerly getting into an accident/collision. More over all of us drive carefully (atleast all TBHP members) and ensure we are not cause of an accident.

You can and ofcourse freely fly a kite but then why leave the kite with the manja on the road (will you ride your car/bike without brakes) or drive with the front windscreen covered with color paper. If your kite is cut loose then you will have to ensure that you dispose the kite properly and not just leave it to kill/maim someone else.

Coming to Baraat- these are congregative events and the baraati vehicle travels at less than 10kph and cannot cause accident(traffic jam yes) but it is not going to kill/maim anyone but going to delay your journey time.

Dahi Handi- the event is based on wilful participation and accidents that happen are restricted to people participating in the event (if you area bystander then please note you are also a wilful participant)

Sorry to see that people do not differentiate between an accident and an act of negligence.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Nobody wants to ban kites. ... ... ...Just like all these things. Kite flying is also a tradition which needs to evolve.

Exactly. Just as there would be fewer bike deaths if more bikers learned to drive properly (Oh please save me from these "we might as well ban ...everything" arguments which have nothing but emotional appeal. I shall be at my wit's end soon! ) there can be zero deaths/injury from kite flying.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by SankalpDesai

....

Don't get me wrong (especially the mods!) and how many times should I repeat myself. I feel sorry for all those who got hurt due to this. My own real brother cut his upper lip last year. Does that mean we ban a festival? A completely logical question: you ride a bike, you meet with an accident, you die. Should we ban motorcycles? No. You take precautions. That is exactly I had written in my first post on page 3, which was highly misunderstood by the extremely learned members of this forum. When people fly kites, you take precautions and travel accordingly so that you can be saved from a mishap.

I believe in having a positive and constructive dialogue;
....

P.S. - I will fly kites, come what may.

I am assuming that you brother was not a rider at the point of the incident. Could you let us know how we can be constructive and take precautions while we are pedestrians or rider or simply standing on your terrace?

[noopster]

I am fine with the suggestion that outright bans are not a solution and that due precautions need to be taken instead. But the onus of said precautions needs to be on the perpetrators and not the victims.

A person riding a two wheeler can take reasonable precautions against foreseeable hazards. All the gear all the time and all that. But to expect a rider to defend himself against kites is a little silly. Most years I don't even realize when kite season is on.

[SankalpDesai]

Originally Posted by noopster

I am fine with the suggestion that outright bans are not a solution and that due precautions need to be taken instead. But the onus of said precautions needs to be on the perpetrators and not the victims.

Absolutely. There is a limit to how much one can be cautious while riding or walking on the road. Mishaps occur even while one is extremely careful in any situation and hence, we need to ensure that people flying kites should also adhere to certain norms, resulting in lesser number and severity of injuries. Resorting to a ban is not the ideal solution.

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

I am assuming that you brother was not a rider at the point of the incident. Could you let us know how we can be constructive and take precautions while we are pedestrians or rider or simply standing on your terrace?

My brother was talking to a friend who was on his bike, by my brother's side. They were having a chat and as my brother had no plans of getting on the bike, wasn't wearing a helmet (nor was his friend). Just then a 'manja', which was being pulled briskly after the kite it was attached to was severed, fell on his head. He tried to move away from it but the manja ended up on his lips, making an inch-long and deep cut.

Precautions that could have been taken by the flyer - manja not embellished with glass particles or other harmful substances.
Precautions that could have been taken by my brother and his friend - if they were to stand and talk, why not do it under a roof or a tree? You need to do this only for a day or two in a year, right?

I have been cut numerous times on my fingers, not entirely due to bad manja, but also due to the very nature of this sport. A heavy kite sailing in heavy wind can do much more damage to your fingers than you can probably imagine.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Nobody wants to ban kites.
Just like all these things. Kite flying is also a tradition which needs to evolve.

A very reasonable post with points that are good, compelling and not extreme. Thanks for showing that conversations can be had without labeling fellow forum members as callous and insensitive.

[Leoshashi]

BHPian baby_antu aka Anant Gupta narrowly escaped death: A manjha hit him while he was on his bike, and luckily he spotted it moments ago and tried to block it with his arms.

Result: received bruises both on his hands and neck.





Doctor said the manjha narrowly missed the veins, otherwise it would have resulted in serious injuries.

[SJM1214]

14th January - Uttrayan - MakarShakranti is one of the major festivals in Gujarat. People start practising their kite flying skills 15 to 20 days before the kite flying day. Those kite manja are really dangerous for two-wheeler riders. Even in my family, we faced two or three accident due to this kite manja. From last two or three years, someone came up with a unique idea to give protection to two-wheeler rider from this manja. It is called safety wire or rod. This rod can be installed with side mirrors on the two-wheeler. Have a look.

[Vikram8891]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

14th January - Uttrayan - MakarShakranti is one of the major festivals in Gujarat. People start practising their kite flying skills 15 to 20 days before the kite flying day. Those kite manja are really dangerous for two-wheeler riders. Even in my family, we faced two or three accident due to this kite manja. From last two or three years, someone came up with a unique idea to give protection to two-wheeler rider from this manja. It is called safety wire or rod. This rod can be installed with side mirrors on the two-wheeler. Have a look.

Attachment 1724536

Hey,

Thanks for sharing this. I am myself from Vadodara and when some colleagues were visiting from Delhi recently they asked me what this was. I still remember 2 - 3 years ago when I saw this on 2 wheelers for the first time I too was baffled. Initially I thought they were antennas and it was a new trend to install radios on the bikes/scooters

Anyway not to digress from the topic, this is an interesting thread. As a person who prefers to ride his bike than drive a car, the precaution I exercise apart from wearing a helmet and gloves (the whole year) is to add a muffler like cloth on my neck during the 2 weeks since the festival. At least that is a layer of protection over the bare skin of the neck.

P.S. - my mother got a cut on her ankle from the manjha which was lying on the street while she was walking. She didnt notice it. I dont wish to play blame games but it seems people will keep using these sharp threads come what may and in the end we need to be cautious during this season. I know it sounds ridiculous but anytime you are out of the house in this season, one must be on the lookout for these just like we lookout for live wires lying on the road. Peace.

[Traveller Nayak]

Interesting topic as I recently witnessed what could have been a terrible accident had I been on a two wheeler.

Last month, I was in Jaipur with family and the whole city was geared up for Sankranti (if I am not mistaken) and the related kite flying events. Kite shops open till late at night.

Either we were returning to our hotel or we were going for shopping, I remember now - we were returning to our hotel (Trident) and at the traffic signal before Jal Mahal road (coming from city towards Jal Mahal) we saw one biker fiddling with his neck. That was when the autowala jumped out and ran towards the biker. And, that was when we realised it was the ‘manja’ which was rubbing on the neck. The biker with helmet and sudden turn of events was probably shocked to move back or tear the thread. The autowala tore the ‘manja’. We moved on. But for someone like me who has recently gone back to biking this was an alarm call. I use a balaclava when I go on rides but within neighbourhood one doesn’t. What if the biker was not stationary - how would have this played out?

[SJM1214]

Motorists’ refusal to give way to the car with manja victim cost life.

PUNE: Paediatrician Rajendra Vanave is still coming to terms that his desperate effort to shift Krupali Nikam to a hospital in a car was delayed and defeated by some motorists’ refusal to give way on the Nashik phata flyover on Sunday.

Nikam, a 26-year-old woman ayurvedic doctor from Pimple Saudagar, died as she fell off a scooter after her throat was slit by kite string (manja) on the Nashik phata flyover at Kasarwadi around 6.45pm.

News Source.

[alpha1]

Only in India can we see people trying to defend hazardous practices in the name of festival / religion / tradition.

And therefore a country like ours deserves bans.
Ban on kite flying if it disturbs / harms the motorists. Ban on manja if it causes bodily injury. Ban on color if they cause skin and eye problem, ban on loudspeakers spewing out religious sermons if they cause disturbance to people sleeping / working, ban on ... so many things that should actually require a permission but are taken for granted here.

[ram1kv]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...8.cms?from=mdr

Another innocent soul perishes due to our indiscipline as a population continuing to buy them and authorities unwillingness to take an illegal item out of the market. As celebrities and politicians are rarely the victims, this trend is going to continue sadly!

Below is an internet image of how a lighter weight bird with additional feathery protection gets maimed and killed. Now imagine a human with much higher weight, riding with the tender neck in the line against this tough and sharp string. It is not surprising that a lot of the injuries are critical or fatal.