Lahore police fail to eliminate kite flying

Two incidents of injury due to string reported in provincial metropolis within a week

LAHORE:

Lahore police under their new leadership have also failed to curb kite flying incidents in the city despite announcing it as the topmost priority.

CCPO Umer Shoib Sheikh had vowed to curb the dangerous practice of flying kites, the day he assumed charge last month.

Two incidents of injury due to kite string had been reported in the provincial metropolis within a week.

The latest case was reported in Naseerabad where a motorcyclist fell victim to the kite string. Last week a teenage boy met the same fate in Wahdat Colony.

Sheikh, right after taking charge, had announced strict action against kite flying as his priority. A drastic reduction in deaths and injuries due to kite string was one of his topmost priorities along with improvement in investigations and end to land grabbing, he had vividly announced.

For this purpose, he had announced a stern crackdown against the sellers, manufacturers and importers.

However, his announcements proved to be tall claims only. Reports of kite flying in the provincial metropolis have been continuously reported since he took charge. Now, the reports of injuries due to the kite string have also started pouring in. In a short span of seven days, two cases have been reported.

In Naseerabad, a motorcyclist was injured in Gulbahar colony. The victim Brian Pervaiz was riding a motorcycle and had left his house for a nearby stall. When he was on the way, a sting ran over his neck. The victim suffered a cut on his neck and fell down.

Nearby people called Rescue 1122 teams that shifted the victim to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Last week, Waseem Hussain, 19, became a victim of kite string in Wahdat Colony. He too was riding a motorcycle when the incident took place.

As he reached near Muslim Town signal on Canal Road, the string ran over his neck. He sustained injuries and fell down. The victim was shifted to Lahore Services Hospital.

As is the routine, the CCPO took notice of the incident and asked Model Town SP to submit a report to him.

A spokesperson for the CCPO Lahore said, “At least 9,831 cases against kite flying, selling and manufacturing were registered in the ongoing year.”

During the period, at least 10,173 suspects were arrested for violation of kite flying ban, he added. “Moreover, Lahore police has so far seized at least 104,000 kites, 200 string spindles and a huge quantity of kite strings. The Lahore CCPO has been observing zero tolerance policy against kite flying.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2020.