Punjab imposes ban on celebrating Basant festival

LAHORE: Punjab government has ordered imposition of complete ban on celebrating Basant festival, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The Chief Secretary of Punjab has issued an order to this effect.

A government meeting discussed the issue of celebrating Basant in February, according to sources.

The chief secretary in the session ordered district administrations in Punjab to take stern action against kite flying across the province, sources further said.

The meeting decided with the resolve that no person will be allowed to play the blood sport, according to the sources.

A lawyer had last year a lawyer had moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the government’s decision to lift the 12-year-old ban imposed on celebrating Basant festival in the province.

The petitioner said that it was unconstitutional to allow a leisure activity that results in the loss of human lives.

The ban on Basant was imposed by the Supreme Court in 2007 after the deaths of several people due to kite’s glass-coated strings.

Earlier, in 2005, the Supreme Court imposed a ban on the manufacture, trade or flying of kites. The court said it was a precautionary measure to prevent the loss of lives since kite strings were sometimes laced with chemicals.