Six people lost their lives today during Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti. Among these, four deaths were caused by kite string (manja) injuries. The fatalities were reported in Rajkot, Panchmahal, Mehsana, and Surendranagar districts, with several injuries recorded across the state.
In the first case, four-year-old Kunal Parmar sustained a fatal neck injury from a kite string while riding a motorcycle with his father to buy kites and balloons in Halol town, Panchmahal.
In Mehsana district, 35-year-old farmer Mansaji Thakor died when a kite string cut his neck while he was riding to his farm in Vadbar village. He was taken to the hospital but could not be saved.
An unidentified motorcyclist was similarly killed near Rajkot city, while in Surendranagar district, 35-year-old Ishwar Thakor succumbed to severe neck injuries caused by a kite string in Patdi taluka.
Meanwhile, in Kadi’s Kasba area, a woman and her brother lost their lives after being electrocuted while attempting to remove kite strings from power lines.
GVK EMRI, which manages the state’s 108 ambulance service, reported a rise in emergency cases during Uttarayan this year. By 6 PM, 3,707 emergency calls were recorded, compared to 3,362 on the same day in 2024. Many incidents involved injuries from kite strings or falls from rooftops while flying kites.