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SURAT/BHIWANDI: The menace of banned Chinese manja cast a deadly shadow over the kite-flying season, killing nine people in Gujarat, while a fireman in Maharashtra and a 33-year-old man in Vadodara were electrocuted in kite-linked accidents.In Surat, a motorbike carrying a couple and their daughter plunged about 60ft from Chandrashekhar Azad flyover. Sources said Rehan Shaikh, 34, lost control while trying to avoid manja strands dangling across the bridge and struck the railing, throwing all three down to the ground below. Shaikh and daughter Alisha Khatun died after being rushed to hospital. Shaikh’s wife Rehana Bibi, who initially survived, died at hospital on Thursday.Riyansh Borse, 8, was cycling in Surat’s Jahangirpura when a kite string cut his throat and he died bleeding. Prince Batham, 23, died in a similar way in another location. He was the youngest among three brothers and a native of Kannauj in UP.In Bharuch district, Rahul Parmar, 35, died after a manja cut his throat while riding a motorcycle. An eight-year-old boy died after suffering critical neck injuries in Anand district while riding with his father on the motorcycle’s fuel tank. In Aravalli district, 17-year-old Tirth Patel died after a kite string caught his neck.In Vadodara, Shankar Rathwa was electrocuted when he tried to retrieve his kite entangled in an overhead power cable.In Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi, fireman Nitin Pashte, 50, was electrocuted while trying to rescue a crow tangled in manja on a high-tension electric pole.
