AHMEDABAD:
Leaning in opposition to stacks of coloured paper, Mohammad Yunus is one in every of 1000’s of staff within the western Indian state of Gujarat who handcraft kites which might be used throughout a serious harvest competition.
Folks in Gujarat rejoice Uttarayan, a Hindu competition in mid-January that celebrates the top of winter by flying kites hooked up to strings lined in glass or plastic.
“The kite might seem to be a small merchandise, however it takes a very long time to supply. Many individuals are concerned in it and their livelihood is dependent upon it,” stated Yunus, a Muslim who involves Gujarat from the neighboring state of Rajasthan to make kites through the peak season. , he instructed Reuters.
Greater than 130,000 individuals are concerned in kite-making throughout Gujarat, in line with authorities estimates, lots of whom do business from home to make kites that value simply 5 rupees (6 US cents).
Originally of the two-day competition, individuals hire roofs and terraces to those that have entry to them and collect there to fly colourful kites that cross one another within the sky.
Gujarat is a middle of the kite business within the nation, boasting a market price 6.5 billion Indian rupees ($76.58 million), and the state accounts for round 65% of the whole variety of kites manufactured in India .
Though the state’s kite flying season is restricted to virtually simply two or three days in January, the business operates year-round, offering employment to round 130,000 individuals within the state, in line with authorities information.
However these paper birds are additionally dangerous and might be deadly, particularly kites which have plastic strings, which may trigger severe cuts to birds within the sky, killing and injuring 1000’s of them through the competition.
A minimum of 18 individuals died from accidents brought on by kites in Gujarat throughout this 12 months’s Uttarayan competition, together with being reduce by a string and electrocuted whereas attempting to free a kite from an electrical pole, native media reported. Reuters
