During Makar Sankranti people across India fly kites and celebrate the harvest festival in a fitting way. In Gujarat, people make it a big festival when the State Government sponsors kite flying competitions. Even foreigners participate in the celebrations.
However, the dangers relating to kite flying are too many. First and foremost, one should know his/her surroundings and watch where they are going. Tripping and falling can actually result in some rather serious injuries including head trauma and broken bones in the most severe circumstances. Even in the less severe circumstances, bad cuts and sprains are certainly no walk in the park and give a you testing time. Having your throat slit is statistically very rare but it obviously can occur when flying a kite as evidenced above.
If the wind takes hold of your kite and causes it to crash, it could also cause harm to another person such as hitting them very hard on the head. This could cause just bruising or if it hits them in the eye, a very serious and potentially life-threatening injury might occur.
Do not fly a kite near power lines because if it gets entangled in these power lines, electrocution is a possibility. Standard power lines carry thousands of volts of electricity and this can be fatal to a human. If you ever have a kite that gets away from you and ends up in power lines, do not attempt to retrieve it yourself. Instead, call the utility company and notify them right away. They will come out and remove it. We do not read media reports of kite-related deaths daily or even monthly but they can and do happen.
When you are flying a kite, practice safety to ensure that your next kite-flying adventure remains fun for everyone involved. Safety is of foremost importance when you fly kites. The manja used for flying kites is sharp one and can cause damage to the human limps and animals as well. Even when a kite is flying high and in the competition, is cut by another kite, then the remaining manja along with the kite drags around the busy streets. It sometimes crosses the railway lines and children in their own spirit go to catch the kite. Sometimes they hit a passing train and either get injured or are killed.
So, it is better to take all precautions rather than risk our lives only for the sake of flying a kite during the Makar Sankranti day.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
