Police to take strict action against ‘gattu’ sellers: SSP
Ajay Raina
JAMMU, July 30: Holding a red pulpy mixture in one hand, Ashok Kumar is amongst just a handful of manja makers (kite strings) who are continuing with the vocation and appears to be set for final days.
“I have been into the vocation for the last over two decades and I am a testimony to all the ups and downs of the manja-making business. After a few years, you won’t find the activity anywhere anymore. Only Chinese threads (gattu) will be sold in the market,” he said.
He attributes various factors for the slow death of what was once an immensely popular cottage industry.
“Due to COVID-19 pandemic, there has been literally no business for us. Now when our business is reviving , the demand of Chinese threads has again made our lives miserable”, he said, adding that the new generation is not learning this art of manja as demand of Chinese thread popularly known as ‘Gattu’ is being sold in the market.
“Earlier, except for rainy days, we had work throughout the monsoon, and it continued in the winter months too, without time even to relax,” he recalled, adding that our business is fast losing to dangerous ‘Gattu’.
“Officials are raiding local shops and seizing Chinese threads. But traders somehow smuggle and sell it,” another manja maker Pankaj Kumar said. “Traders prefer to sell Chinese thread as the same is cheaper as compared to local manja”, he added.
Earlier, there used to be around 15 stalls where manja-making business was being run, but now it runs at only one place and that is Maheshpura area of Bakshi Nagar,
Kala, another manja maker, said no one from our family is learning this art as Chinese strings grabbed the market and are in full demand of the children.
The manja makers urged the Government to ban use of Chinese Manja during the upcoming kite flying season.
Even the Kite merchants in Old City area of Jammu are keen to see ban on sale of Chinese Manja as it has affected the livelihoods of large number of local Manja makers who work on cotton thread.
“Chinese thread is dangerous for human lives also. In the past, we heard about several incidents, where people got hurt with this Chinese string. In some cases, people also lost their lives”, a shopkeeper said.
“Cotton Manja is not as dangerous. Compared to cotton, Nylon is sharper and birds get deep wounds when they come in contact,” Vishal Sharma, a college student said.
When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu Chandan Kohli, said that strict action will be taken against those who indulge in selling the dreaded ‘Chinese thread’ commonly known as ‘gattu’.
He appealed to the people to refrain from using ‘Chinese thread’ and use cotton thread as it does not cause injuries while having fun during ‘Kite Festivals’.
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