The Kite Flying Association Rawalpindi has announced to celebrate Basant celebration on February 11 in Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Areas and on February 18 in Rawalpindi City despite the government ban.
The association has at the same time intensified preparations to celebrate the event.
The association has announced that the Basant Mela will be celebrated at all costs in defiance of all restrictions. “Basant is a festival being celebrated since before the establishment of Pakistan. The police should stop the arrests. Kite-flyers should not be harassed,” the association said.
It said that the association has banned the use of metal strings and aerial firing during the Basant Mela. This ban will be strictly enforced. If the police and the administration continue to harass, but “they are free and independent from us”.
There will be a “Basant Night in the darkness of night and Basant Mela in daylight. If the police and the administration can stop then let them stop, the association said.
Leaders of the association Haji Iqbal and Abdul Ghafoor while talking to The Express Tribune said that Basant Night will be held on February 10 in Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment areas. On Basant Night, white kites will be flown from sunset till 1 am and kite fighting will be arranged. On the second day, there will be a full day Basant Mela on Friday, February 11. On February 17, there will be a Basant Night in the entire city of Rawalpindi and on the next day, Friday, February 18, there will be a full day Basant Mela, they said.
Sources said that kite-fliers have ordered up to 2 million kite strings from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gujranwala. These kite strings are being delivered to kite-flyers at their homes upon booking. A large number of kites are also being made in Rawalpindi city and Cantonment areas. These kite strings are delivered to a kite flying friend at his home on code words.
Special food and barbecues are also being arranged on the roofs of houses and plazas on Basant Day. There will also be shouts of Bokatas.
Metal chemical strings and aerial firing cause casualties. We are ready to negotiate with the administration and the police for a strict ban on these.
These two things are harmful, the association said.
On the other hand, Rawalpindi City Police Officer Sajid Kayani has also issued orders to SHOs of police stations across the district to take stern action against kite-flying.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17, 2022.
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