Independence Day: Discoms urge people to not use metal-coated strings to fly kites

Ahead of Independence Day, power distribution entities in Delhi urged people not to use metal-coated strings for flying kites, saying it poses a “severe risk” to life and disrupts electricity supply.

People in the city enjoy kite flying every year during Independence Day.

A BSES spokesperson said, “Metal-coated manjha, very effective in cutting the opponent’s kite string, is a deadly conductor of electricity. Its use has been linked to numerous accidents, injuries, and large-scale power outages across the city.”

Metal-coated strings not only pose a “severe risk” to life but also lead to disruption in power supply through tripping, affecting thousands of people, the spokesperson added.

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Metal-coated kite strings endanger lives, disrupt power supply, and jeopardise public safety, especially during high kite-flying seasons like Independence Day, said the BSES spokesperson.

The Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) has also appealed to its customers to be mindful of the electrical network and use cotton strings or any other natural fibre instead of the metal-coated manjha.

Raj Kumar Rastogi, the chief of operations and safety at TPDDL, said, “We urge everyone to fly kites away from electrical wires and installations, as it can lead to power tripping and even serious accidents.”

The tripping of a single 33/66 KV overhead line can disrupt power for over 10,000 residents, while a single 11 KV line can affect over 2,500 residents. Each year, multiple instances of kite-flying-related trippings are reported, he said.

The threat extends beyond power disruptions.

Reckless kite flying, especially with metal-coated strings, can lead to severe injuries or even electrocution for the flyer if it comes in contact with live wires or other electrical installations.

The discom has appealed to people, especially family elders and parents, to counsel their children to refrain from using such strings and retrieving kites from electric wires and other such power installations.

They have also been conducting an awareness campaign to prevent the use of metal-coated strings in kite flying.

TPDDL has planned to hold a mega rally in the slum clusters and resettlement colonies in the city with the engagement of the company’s Social Impact Group to raise awareness about electrical safety, said a spokesperson of the discom.

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With the help of cutting-edge Geospatial Techniques, the discom analyses the past trends of service disruptions and visualises areas such as Jahangirpuri, Mangolpuri, Sultanpuri, Kirari, Bhaslwa, Burari, Badli, Karala, Wazirpur and Bawana that are prone to get affected by kite flying-induced interruptions, it said.