In the aftermath of all the kite-flying earlier this month, birds are still paying the price. Instances of birds injured by and entangled in the mesh of kite strings are disconcertingly common. But this rare sight of compassion, witnessed near Lalbagh in Bangalore, is truly heartwarming.
According to Nischal Ponnappa, who managed to capture the rescue on video, a few young people saw a bird stuck in a kite thread in Bangalore. What seemed to be a still bird hanging from the tree started to show some signs of movement, promoting one man to take the initiative. Even a city government bus was involved – upon which the man stood as he used a stick to try and untangle the bird. Fluttering with a visibly injured wing, the bird is finally freed at the 00:53 second mark.
Amidst cheers from the crowd, the still struggling bird flies into yet another mesh of strings, just a little distance away. Moving atop the civic bus, the man rescues it yet again. The injured bird sways to the ground in an attempt to fly, is soon tended by three men. As soon as they fix the ruptured wing, the bird flies off again. This time, it finally manages to get away.
Every year, hundreds of birds have to deal with the danger of getting snagged in kite strings around the time of India's popular kite festivals. Last year, Maharashtra even had to ban the sale and use of kite strings, also known as pucca manja, usually made intentionally sharp to cut others kite strings.
In 2014, an animal welfare organisation in Gujarat attended to 2,394 injured birds in Ahmedabad alone, with 490 of these dying, the Guardian reported. Last year the string even led to the death of one person, a five-year-old boy whose throat was cut by a sharp string.
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