The announcement was welcomed by those kite lovers, but others also challenged the decision in the Lahore High Court arguing that kite flying had turned into a blood sport which has claimed several people's lives. In December last year, Punjab's Information Minister Fayaz-ul-Hasan Chohan said that lifting the ban on kite flying in February 2019 was being considered.
Earlier this month, 13 people were arrested due to a violation of the kite ban in Punjab. Now, people can hardly find a single store selling kites.ĭespite the efforts made by the government, infatuated kite flyers could somehow still get the banned strings and kite-triggered tragedies continue in Lahore. Mochi Gate area in the old part of Lahore was once the center of the kite and string business. Local authorities also announced cash rewards for the people who provide information about the manufacturing or selling of equipment used for kite flying.īut, the ban on the Basant also left hundreds of thousands of people working in the kite-related industry unemployed. Those found in violation of the law are liable to imprisonment for three years or to a fine of 40,000 rupees (some 290 U.S. The Punjab government thereafter introduced a law prohibiting kite sales and manufacturing, including kite-related accessories such as the sharp cords. The special twines, once cut, could fall on onlookers or people outside and potentially inflict fatal injuries on them, especially for motorbike riders.Īfter 19 people were killed and numerous cases of injuries by the special kite strings in 2005, Pakistan's Supreme Court put a ban on the kite-flying Basant in Punjab province where Lahore is the capital city. However, when zealous kite flyers indulged themselves in the excitement of cutting off strings of opponents' kites, the joyful event evolved into a lethal disaster for everyone in the city.Ĭhasing after the kite fight victories, some flyers managed to make their kite cords stronger and sharper by using strings made of metal or coated with glass powder.
To this extent, Basant was not only a carnival of kites, but also a drive for Lahore's tourism economy. Ramzan, the owner of a transport company, recalled that he used to spend thousands of U.S. "Friends, neighbors and relatives used to all get together and fly colorful kites from dawn to dusk on their rooftops, on terraces and in open places, while enjoying loud music, dancing and variety of food," Ramzan told Xinhua.įor Lahoris, to embrace spring by flying kites is called "Basant," or welcoming spring festival. The uncountable number of colorful kites flying over the iconic domes of the Badshahi Mosque was one of the images belonged to Lahore to impress the world in spring.
13 (Xinhua) - At a time when birds joyfully chirped and vernal sunshine warmed the historical city of Lahore in eastern Pakistan, it is the good time for 44-year-old Malik Ramzan who used to enjoy kite flying with gentle winds in the well-known "garden city" to say adieu to bleak winter and welcome vibrant spring.
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