Making an appeal to the public not to fly kites in the vicinity of the electrical installations, Delhi Transco limited (DTl) said metal coated manjha of kites coming in contact with the live wire not only causes trippings but also has possibility of causing serious injuries or electrocution to the kite flyers.
“Whenever there is a tripping in extra high-voltage transmission lines it runs the risk of long outage, which may affect large areas. During the last few years a large number of trippings occurred in Delhi due to kite flying on August 15,” a DTl statement said.
According to the data shared by the power transmission utility, in recent years nearly 50 such trippings have been observed on the occasion of each Independence Day. In 2015, such incidents were considerably less at 18.
DTl further appealed people should fly kites in open spaces such as parks, playgrounds etc. far away from the transmission lines and they should not use metal coated manjha for their safety and smooth transmission of power.
In a separate advisory, BSES also appealed to the public not to fly kites around transmission lines and also desist from using metal-coated threads (manjha) as it may cause electrocution.
BSES said disrupting power supply and causing damage to power equipment is punishable under the Electricity Act and the Delhi Police Act.