Kuchu puchu meets Chinese manjha: Delhi Police give viral GEN-Z trend a safety twist

In a playful social media post, the city police joined the viral “kuchu puchu” trend to spread a message against the use of banned Chinese and plastic manjha, giving its usual safety advisory a distinctly internet-friendly makeover. The message is simple: kite flying is.

The police’s social-media experiment comes amid a crackdown on the banned string in the capital. Naturally, the internet being the internet, the post has all the ingredients for some gentle trolling.

What Happened

The humour may invite a smile, but the warning behind it is anything but frivolous. Chinese manjha, often made from synthetic or plastic material and coated with abrasive substances, can cause serious injuries to people and can also prove fatal for birds.

• The Crime Branch recently seized more than 1,300 rolls of Chinese manjha in an enforcement action, while Central Delhi Police also recovered around 120 rolls.

• In 2023, a seven-year-old girl was killed by Chinese manjha when she was going to a market with her father on a scooter in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area.

• The newspaper is run by a five-member Trust, which is chaired by Shri N N Vohra, former Governor of J&K State (2008-2018); as well as Justice S S Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the.

Key Details

In a recent case in southwest Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, a 32-year-old man sustained a cut in his neck when he was on his way to Mundka for business.

• Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language, are the hallmarks of the paper.The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

• Shamsher Singh Mehta, former Western Army Commander; Shri Paramjit Singh Patwalia, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court.THE TRIBUNE is free, objective, and independent.

• THE TRIBUNE was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist of the time.

Why It Matters

THE TRIBUNE, India’s oldest, daily English-language newspaper, was first published on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan), and save for 40 days in the immediate aftermath of Partition, has come out every day over the last 145 years.

• Delhi Police’s move also shows how public-safety messaging is increasingly adapting to the language of social media.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by The Tribune as more details emerge