15 January,2015 06:34 AM IST | | Sadaguru Pandit
He tried hard to avoid a kite that eventually floated towards him, and the string got entangled around his neck; as he struggled to remove it while riding, he also sustained severe cuts on his hand
A businessman from Bandra had a narrow escape on Wednesday, from a Chinese-made manja attached to a kite after it floated towards him and entangled around his neck. Shailesh Jain (38) received five stitches on his neck and 24 on three fingers of his left hand, with which he had tried to struggle free, as he rode his bike.
Shailesh Jain sustained cuts on his neck and hand due to the manja
The arrival of Makar Sankranti had hundreds of people flying kites. This also means a chance of getting injured by the thread used to fly the kites the manja. This thread is sharp and abrasive, as it is coated with powdered glass. Jain was on his way home from Wadala when around 4.45 pm at T junction near Dharavi, he saw a kite floating towards him.
As he was aware of incidents of injuries caused by the thread, he kept a close watch on the kite, but eventually, as it came down, the thread got entangled around his neck. "I panicked when the thread was getting entangled around my neck. But I was riding at the speed of 40 to 50 kmph, and it was impossible for me to stop in the middle of the road.
Hence, I immediately tried to remove the manja from around my neck with my left hand while trying to balance the bike with the right," said Jain. Jain then stopped the vehicle at the next signal and succeeded in freeing himself from the thread, only to realise that his neck and fingers had sustained severe cuts.
"There was no way I could leave the vehicle on the road and take a rickshaw; I just rode back home in that state and called our family doctor, S P Kataria," added Jain. Dr Kataria checked the wounds and put in five stitches on his neck and 24 on three fingers of his left hand.
"Had he not put his hand in the middle, his neck injuries would have become grave. He is completely fine now. Luckily the cuts weren't deep and will heal in a week or so," said Dr Kataria. Jain has decided that he will spread the message of how dangerous the Chinese-made manja is, and ask people not to use it.
"The thread doesn't snap easily and possesses elastic- like agility. It is sharp as well. I request people to ban this deadly thread. Not everybody will be as lucky as I am, and this manja might claim someone's life," Jain said.
