Police grab ladders to catch rooftop kite flyers

Metal or glass-coated strings used in aerial duels of kites have caused many fatal accidents

ISLAMABAD:

The capital police will carry ladders on squad vehicles to raid rooftops where youth will be found flying kites.

In the run-up to Basant, the Rawalpindi police are already seizing kites in hundreds daily, while the Islamabad police have also decided to launch crackdown against kite flyers and sellers.

According to a statement issued on Sunday, following directions from Inspector General of Police Islamabad Qazi Jamilur Rehman, the operations chief of police Afzaal Kausar has directed the force to ensure action against kite flyers and sellers in the capital territory.

Kite enthusiasts were insisting on holding Basant, the kite flying festival that heralds the arrival of spring, in the last week of February. However the authorities were consistent in enforcing the law to prevent the loss of life and property due to the banned sport.

Police vehicles, carrying ladders to climb on rooftops, would remain on patrol in different areas and the district administration has also banned sale of kite flying items as it puts on risk the lives of others, the statement said.

The metal or glass-coated strings used in the aerial duels of kites have caused a number of fatal accidents. The low-hanging kite flying string gets entangled in the necks of bikers and pedestrians causing critical injures. The lost kites and strings also get caught in power lines thus increasing the risk of short-circuit.

Kite flyers may also fall down from the roofs putting their lives on risk. Special squads would be formed to implement the ban and police would start regular patrols while making announcements on megaphones.

Owners of all buildings where kite flying is being carried out will be arrested because deaths and injuries cause as a consequence of kite flying occur every year, chasing fallen kites results in road accidents. DIG Kausar also appealed parents not to allow children to buy or fly kites because it is dangerous. He also sought cooperation of citizens to make lives of all secure and safe.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2021.