Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kite-flying is a popular sport in many parts of India 
 
 Three people, including two children, have died after their throats were slit by glass-coated strings used for flying kites on India's Independence Day. 
 
 Saanchi Goyal, 3, and Harry, 4, were looking out through the sunroof of their cars in different parts of Delhi when sharp strings slit their throats. 
 
 Zafar Khan, 22, died in the same manner when he was riding his motorbike. 
 
 Glass-coated strings are used to bring down competitors' kites, but they also end up injuring and killing people. 
 
 Many Indians fly kites to celebrate festivals and important occasions like the Independence Day, which is celebrated on 15 August. 
 
 But every year, there are reports of people dying or getting wounded from the kite strings - locally known as manja - treated with powdered glass or metal to sharpen them. 
 
 Similar strings killed a five-year-old boy in 2015 in the northern town of Moradabad, and a five-year-old girl died in Jaipur in 2014. 
 
 These strings also kill and maim hundreds of birds annually - at least 500 birds have been admitted to the Charity Birds Hospital in Delhi in the past three days alone, Indian media reports say. The hospital says it treats up to 8,000 birds every year. 
 
 On Monday, a policeman in Delhi was also injured from a sharpened string. 
 
 The Delhi government has now banned the use of sharpened manja to fly kites and promised to run campaigns to educate people about the dangers of using such strings. 
 
 Authorities said the sale, production and storage of nylon, plastic or any other glass or metal-coated manja would be prohibited in the capital city and those who violated the ban would have to pay a penalty of 100,000 rupees ($1,495; £1,148) and could be jailed for up to five years. ||||| Animal rights organisation PETA had also last week filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal demanding an immediate ban on use of the string. Animal rights organisation PETA had also last week filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal demanding an immediate ban on use of the string. 
 
 A day after two people, including a three year old girl, died after getting entangled in the ‘maanjha’ (sharp string used for flying kites), the Delhi Government on Monday banned Chinese ‘maanjha’ in the capital. The move comes after Independence Day, when kite flying is practiced throughout the city. The sharp string is often coated with glass or metal to make it sharper, causing deaths of birds flying in the sky as well. 
 
 A 22-year-old man died Monday after his neck got entangled in the kite string, making him take a fatal fall from his motorcycle. The incident happened in west Delhi’s Mianwali Nagar area. 
 
 In another incident, a three-year-old girl Saanchi Goyal died when she was returning home with her parents after watching a movie in Naraina. The girl was looking out of open sunroof in the car when suddenly her neck got slit by a ‘manjha’ as they were passing through Rani Bagh area, a police officer said. 
 
 Animal rights organisation PETA had also last week filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal demanding an immediate ban on use of the string ahead of Independence Day on August 15. The organisation had said that the string can cause serious injuries, sometimes fatal, to birds, animals and also humans. 
 
 WATCH VIDEO: Manjha Kills Two Children During Independence Day Festivities 
 
 “Manja is a menace to public safety,posing a life-threatening risk to humans and birds alike. PETA India is calling on authorities to make kite-flying enjoyable and safe for everyone by banning manja from the activity,” said PETA India Government Affairs Liaison Nikunj Sharma. 
 
 (with inputs from agencies) 
 
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– A man and two children are dead in India after a kite flying tradition on Independence Day went horribly wrong. Two children, aged 3 and 4, had their throats slit by kite strings covered with powdered glass or metal—a coating used to cut down competitors' kites—while riding with their heads out of car sunroofs in separate incidents in Delhi on Monday, reports the BBC. A 22-year-old motorcyclist suffered a fatal fall when he became entangled in a string, per the Indian Express, while a police officer was also injured. The Delhi government has since banned the sale of the sharp strings.