“The brisk sale of deadly cord raises doubt on effectiveness of Govt orders and efficiency of law enforcement agencies”.
JAMMU: Notorious for unleashing bloodbath in the city and become death trap for bike riders as well as speechless birds and animals, easy availability of killer Chinese thread (Gattu) in market of Jammu city have raised questioned mark on effectiveness of ‘ban’ imposed by the administration on it’s sale.
The sale of dangerous cord, coated with glass or abrasives assumed an alarming proportion and the greedy bussinessmen eyeing on maximum profit intentionality promoting it’s sale with impunity.
There are identified traders in Rajeev Nagar, Bagh e Bahu, Qasim Nagar, Parade, Pacca Danga, Nai Basti, Rehari, Sarwal and Pir Mitha which are engaged in sale of killer thread. But, if it still remained elusive to the administration and police then it reflects the failure of their intelligence grid, said Prof. Ashutosh.
Interestingly, every year there are several incidents of deaths and serious injuries on account of Chinese string, yet, so far, the administration and police has not initiated any applaudable exercise to check it’s sale in market.
Reacting to the easy availability of killer thread in market, a senior officer of JPDCL wishing anonymity attributes this sorry state of affairs due to absence of commitment on the part of administration towards a grave issue which is not only endangering lives of people especially motorbike riders on the road but also interupting supply of electricity by damaging the property of Power Development Department.
Despite ban, how it continues to be available freely under the counters in neighbourhood stores is failure of administrative machinery, avers Dr. Rajinder Singh.
Last year, a motorbike youth lost his life in jurisdiction of Police Station Bagh e Bahu when the Chinese string slit his throat. Nearly, 13 cases of deep cut due to Chinese ‘manja’ were reported last year in Jammu region. It also caused enormous death blow to birds and animals.
The only solution to this recurring problem lies in implementation of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) 2016 order which banned use of Chinese-origin ‘manja. Besides, a jail term upto 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh for violation of the ban.
“The Civil Administration and Police needs to shun its soft approach towards the identified traders of killer manja and book the violators instead of carrying out eyewash exercise and showcasing the same through selected media” said, Ashish, a local resident of Pacca Danga.
Namrata Hakhoo, a renowned genuine animal activist who is doing a yeoman service towards the welfare of speechless creatures in J&K said that it’s painful to see irreparable loss caused to birds and animals every year due to sale and use of synthetic kite flying cord.
Implementation of NGT order in J&K is best way to get rid of manja menace. In addition, those engaged in trade of Chinese Manja knowingly that it’s has potential to cause loss of lives must be booked under stringent sections of IPC for intentionally endangering lives of citizens, says Namrata
She urged the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to personally intervene in the matter and implement the NGT ban on use of Chinese manja in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
To ascertain the action plan of district administration against the sale of lethal manja in Jammu city, the JK Global News despite best efforts could not reach out to Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, however, sources in the administration said “Strict action will be taken against those found involved in sale and purchase of ‘banned’ Chinese cord”.