Nylon manja being sold via social media platforms

Nagpur: In the last one week, the city has witnessed two life-threatening accidents due to the banned

nylon

manja. Despite this, the deadly thread is being sold clandestinely in local markets and openly via

social media platforms

.

On Wednesday, social activist and lawyer Ankita Shah said some dealers were sharing photographs of the banned

Chinese

manja on their Facebook accounts. The posts were open for public and claimed to provide “original nylon manja” of mono company.

“All colours are available for sale. Stock is limited and rates are fixed,” read the caption beneath the manja pictures.

One roll of manja was priced at Rs450 and a set of three at Rs1,100. For interested buyers, a contact number was also provided.

Shocked by such open sale of the product, Shah immediately reported it to the city

police

and Nagpur Municipal Corporation. “It is so unfortunate that people’s lives are being put at risk. There seems to be no fear of administration and it should be held responsible for all losses.” said Shah.

According to NMC, the civic body and police are finding a way to stop the online sales.

NMC

has also sought citizens’ cooperation in enforcing the ban.

According to her, no action was taken despite her repeated complaints. “If the authorities are serious about implementing the ban, they should have immediately tracked this person and seized the stock. His contact details were clearly mentioned,” she added.

TOI could not contact police officials. NMC officials also stated that the Nuisance Detection Squad (NDS) has been carrying out regular raids and seizing nylon

manja

.

On Tuesday, TOI reported about

20-year-old

Pranay Thakre’s

throat

being severely

slit

by a nylon manja. He was heading towards his residence on bike when the string got stuck around his neck, just below the helmet.

A few days before this, a loose string of nylon manja caused life-threatening injuries to

17-year-old

Aditya Bharadwaj. He sustained a deep cut on the right side of his neck when it got entangled in a manja. Bharadwaj was driving a two-wheeler and was on his way to tuition classes when the accident happened.

Local activists have been writing to police and civic body, demanding strict against sale and use of nylon manja. Awareness rallies are also being carried out. TOI has been reporting about how the sale of nylon manja is happening, especially through social media.