Kites string menace continues, 5 persons, 9 birds hurt

The kite flying tradition on the Lohri in city left many injured, even on the main roads, on Tuesday. These kite strings made travel on the roads difficult, especially for those who were on two wheelers. The children who were running to catch the kites, created chaos on the roads and hindered traffic.

In the afternoon, a man got a deep cut from a kite string on his nose while going through the elevator road. The passersby gave him first aid.

Rakesh Sharma, a resident living in an area near to elevator road, said, "We were standing near the road since the morning and noticed many people getting injured from the kite strings. We had kept a few band-aids to help out the passengers."

Two cases of kite injuries were reported in the Guru Teg Bhadur Charitable Hospital, in which an eight-year-old boy got deep cut on neck and a 38-year-old woman got a cut on her forehead because of the kite strings.

Though not many cases were reported in the main hospitals as people getting the cuts or injuries due to kite strings usually approach the nearby private practitioners and rush to hospital only if the injury is major.

Emergency Medical Officer at Fortis Hospital Dr Prashant said, "Accidents due to kite injuries are common during festival of Lohri and Basant Panchami. But people come to hospital only when the injury is major, otherwise either they try to treat it at home or go to nearby doctors."

Dr Prashant said, "If a person gets cut, then it should be washed first and a band-aid should be applied. Person should also go for tetanus injection, but most importantly if they find a cut or injury serious they should consult the doctor."

Three patients came to Dayananda Medical College and Hospital with injuries due to kite strings. DMCH staff member Ayush Chakku said, "I was returning home from hospital when suddenly a string stroked and entangled my neck. The leather jacket got cut leaving scars near my neck and back."

Nine birds get injured

Kite strings injured not only the people, but also birds. As many as nine birds were reported injured because of the kite strings on Tuesday, out of which two succumbed to their injuries.

Founder of the Pakshi Sewa Samiti Vipan Bhatia said, "We received nine birds from various areas like Subhash Nagar, Civil Lines and Jawahar Nagar camp, out of which two died." The number may increase by the night or till Wednesday as many injured birds will not have been noticed till now.

Moreover, 11 injured birds were received by the Pakshi Sewa Samiti in three days before Lohri, that were injured because of the kite strings, Bhatia added.