No Chinese, ab bas Bareilly ka manjha chalega in Delhi, say shopkeepers

The run up to the Independence Day is Delhi's favourite time to fly kites. However, just as the kite-flying season is about to begin, the National Green Tribunal has imposed a nation-wide ban on nylon, Chinese and cotton manjhas coated with glass, citing a threat to life and environment. About a year ago, the Delhi government had also issued a notice, banning Chinese manjhas, but it didn’t have any impact, as shopkeepers and suppliers in Delhi continued to sell them despite the ban.

However, when we visited the kite market in Old Delhi’s Lal Kuan after the NGT ban, we were pleasantly surprised to see that no one was selling Chinese and nylon manjhas. Shopkeepers told us that they were neither "selling, buying, nor had any old stock of Chinese and nylon manjhas."

'No Chinese, ab bas Bareilly ka manjha chalega'
Most of the shopkeepers said that they do not have the banned manjhas in their stock. "It has been a year that we don’t have Chinese manjha in our shops. When the Delhi government had sent a notice last year, we had stopped its sale. I don’t think there is anybody in the market who is selling those manjhas anymore. Manjhas from this market are sold across Delhi. Aur agar yahan hi nahin hai Chinese manjha toh baaki sheher mein bhi nahin hoga. The desi manjha that we have is from Bareilly and we are only selling that," says Mohammad Saqib, a shopkeeper in Lal Kuan, Old Delhi.

Bishan Singh, who owns a shop in Lal Kuan, adds, "We only have cotton manjha and sadda (coloured spool) from Bareilly, no nylon and Chinese manjha." Liyakat Ali, another shopkeeper, says, "Woh manjha bahut kharab tha, kitna nuksan kar sakta hai. We are happy with the decision to ban Chinese and nylon manjha. Although the manjhas from Bareilly are a bit expensive, its quality is better than the Chinese one."

Rates differ but people have no other option
Since Chinese manjha costs less and doesn’t break easily, the customers prefer it to the desi manjha. "Agar aap Chinese manjha ki charkhi lo toh woh aapko `80-150 mein mil jayegi, aur yeh desi manjha `250-450 tak milta hai," says Tanzeeb Hussain, a shopkeeper in Lal Kuan, Old Delhi.
(BCCL/ Ranjit Kumar)
Altaf Qureshi, another shopkeeper, adds, "Chinese was surely cheaper, but it was also harmful. That is why we all are only selling cotton manjha. We haven't faced any loss because we had no Chinese manjha in stock and since the ban had come last year as well, nobody was supplying it this year anyway." Mohammad Junaid, another shopkeeper says, "I think it is too soon to say whether we will be suffering any loss due to the ban."

'Bachhon ko toh sirf chinese chahiye'
While the shopkeepers may welcome the ban, the shopkeepers tell us that the kids prefer Chinese manjha. "Woh jaldi se patang katne nahin deta, tabhi main Chinese leta tha," says one of the kids near Tanzeeb’s shop. "Bachhon ko toh sirf Chinese hi chahiye, par hum kuch nahin kar sakte. Hum toh de nahin rahe, shayad kuch log chupke se de rahein ho toh pata nahi," says Tanzeeb.
–-- [email protected] and Jyoti.Kanyal @timesgroup.com