Lahore, Aug 05: The skies over this eastern Pakistani city once were dotted with brightly coloured kites that swooped and looped in intense dogfights. But now the kites have disappeared - at least for three months. Officials imposed a temporary ban to decide the fate of the popular pastime in Lahore, which has been blamed for power blackouts, injuries and even deaths. Some critics even suggest the popular sport violates Islamic law.
Officials complain some types of kite string - designed to shred other kites during aerial combat and often reinforced with metal and sometimes powdered glass slivers - are sharp enough to slice through human skin or electrical wires.
Newspapers routinely report gruesome stories about fingers being sliced off or people getting electrocuted because their kite strings became entangled in power lines. Many kite fliers have also been killed when they've fallen off rooftops - especially during the peak kite-flying season of Basant, a three-day festival in February celebrating the approach of spring.
Mian Amer Mehmood, chief of the district government, said at least 45 people have died within the past six months in such incidents. "A game should be a game and not a source of danger to the public," he said.
Besides posing hazards to people, the kites are a major source of blackouts, especially in older parts of Lahore.
The ban in Lahore has angered many supporters of the sport, with hundreds of shopkeepers, kite flyers and kite makers in Lahore challenging the ban in court under the umbrella of the All Pakistan Kite Flying and Manufacturing Association. Bureau Report