Pakistan kite makers seek revival of Basant festival

LAHORE: With authorities set to continue with a ban on the Basant kite flying festival in February, kite makers in Pakistan have appealed to the Supreme Court Chief Justice for setting up a "kite city" outside urban areas so that the centuries-old tradition can be preserved.

All Pakistan Kite Flying Association chairman Khawaja Nadeem Wayn said around 150,000 people in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, and 180,000 in Gujranwala and Kasur districts, affiliated with the kite flying industry, had lost their jobs and were facing hardship as they have no other means to earn a livelihood.

A ban was imposed on Basant, the kite flying festival that heralds the arrival of spring, seven years ago after several people, including children, lost their lives when their throats were entangled in the glass-coated twine used for kites.

"The kite flying industry has pinned high hopes on Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry as he has already taken a number of historical decisions in the interest of the masses," Wayn said.

"We have given a proposal to the Punjab government for establishing a 'kite city' outside the limits of cities but the bureaucracy has not even bothered to reply," he said.

Thousands of women used to earn a livelihood by making kites at home but now they are sitting idle because of the complete ban on Basant, he said.

"Kite-making had attained the status of a cottage industry and was providing employment to thousands of people, especially women," he said.

He said that tragic incidents had taken place in the past but instead of taking measures to address them, the kite flying festival had been banned.

"This is no solution," Wayn said. The government decided to continue with the ban on Basant this year after the police department said it could not guarantee the safety of people on the roads during the festival, officials said.