Guj: WR warns people against flying kites with metal-coated strings near rly tracks during Uttarayan

The Western Railways Ahmedabad division on Tuesday warned people against flying kites with metal-coated strings near railway tracks during the upcoming Uttarayan festival.The railway advisory stated that even trying to pull a regular kite string entangled in the high-voltage overhead wires can endanger peoples lives and disrupt railway traffic.

The Western Railway's Ahmedabad division on Tuesday warned people against flying kites with metal-coated strings near railway tracks during the upcoming Uttarayan festival.

The railway advisory stated that even trying to pull a regular kite string entangled in the high-voltage overhead wires can endanger people's lives and disrupt railway traffic. Uttarayan, a festival of kites, is celebrated in Gujarat on January 14, during which revellers pull and cut strings of each other's kites as part of the celebration. In order to sharpen the kite threads, people apply a metal coat -- called 'manjha' -- over the thread, which becomes a good conductor of electricity.

Railway tracks across all sections have been electrified with 25,000-volt overhead wires. Activities such as removing kites and strings entangled in the overhead traction wires have been observed, the advisory stated.

''Kites entangled in 25,000-volt overhead traction wires can endanger human life, as they can cause wires to break while pulling out the threads. This can seriously disrupt railway traffic and cause loss of life,'' it said. People are requested to avoid using metallic powder in strings while flying kites near railway tracks and at railway stations, the railway advisory said.