KOLKATA: To tackle the Chinese manja menace, police have decided to reach out to rappers, who can use their large fan following to spread awareness and warn people of the potential dangers of this type of kite string.
Adnan Hitzz, a rapper from Park Circus, lauded the Kolkata Police initiative, saying, “Rap songs are a good medium to spread awareness, especially among youths. With catchy lyrics and rhythm, we can spread the message that someone’s fun is causing innumerable accidents and one should be more responsible,” said the 21-year old member of Youngsters Production.
Zeeshan Hasan, another rapper from Park Circus, said, “Rap songs are always socially conscious and can be used to spread awareness. Since the target audience are youngsters, the poetry should be youthful and the language must be local — a mix of Hindi and Urdu. Through raps, we can send out the message of not using the sharp Chinese manja and avoiding crowded places to fly kites because that may prove fatal for someone.”
The rappers, police said, are immensely popular and were an automatic choice to spread awareness. “However, we are still working on how to involve them. The awareness programmes will coincide with the festive season,” said an officer.
During interactions with locals on the sidelines of awareness campaigns in the lanes and bylanes over the weekend, cops also explained their plans in tackling the manja problem that has so far injured 16 people in the city in the past four months — 13 on Maa flyover alone. KMDA is setting up safety nets on a flyover and police are taking legal action against anyone selling illegal Chinese manja.
Cops said besides the wire netting, they are launching a door-to-door campaign where the youngest members of the family will be made aware of the dangers of manja so that they stay away from such kite string.
Police sources said surprise raids will continue in the four police station areas of Karaya, Topsia, Beniapukur and Tiljala, which are in close proximity to Maa and AJC Bose Road flyovers.
The Chinese manja is a nylon thread coated with glass and metal dusts like lead and copper and can create gashes on people or birds moving at speed. Despite a ban, there has been limited awareness and decrease in its use.
