Basant's darker side

Just as Lahore's basant is gaining more and more popularity among kite flying enthusiasts as well as plain fun-seekers from everywhere in ever-larger numbers, it is becoming a serious hazard for public life. This year's basant-related casualty figures are deeply disturbing, and call for urgent remedial measures for the future. According to press reports, the festival claimed the lives of 17 people, including four children, while another 600 people were admitted in the city's different hospitals due to injuries sustained in different accidents connected to kite flying.
A four-year-old girl received a grievous injury while she was standing atop a house, where a kite string cut her throat. She died on her way to the hospital. Another young man lost his life in a similar manner after a string cut his throat.
At least two men died after having been hit by stray bullets fired as part of victory celebrations by kite fliers in the densely populated Gwalmandi neighbourhood. Yet another man was electrocuted when the metal wire he had used to catch a loose kite touched a power line.
It is due to its concern for such fatalities that, for quite some time, the city government has been trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to ban the activity. Nonetheless, prior to the annual festivity, the ban had remained effective for several months, and was lifted due to public pressure. Indeed basant brings joy to millions in a country where there is little else to entertain ordinary people. Besides, ever-since the festival has won official patronage, it has developed into a mega event. A huge number of local as well as foreign visitors come to the city, generating a lot of economic activity.
Those who benefit from it are not only the kite and string makers but also the hotel and catering industries as well as the corporate sector, which uses the occasion to advance its PR objectives. Hence, it is unreasonable to expect that this tidal flow of public enthusiasm and business activity can be easily brought to a halt. At the same time, basant's fatal impact on public safety cannot be ignored.
The government must take a serious notice of the rising toll that the festival has been taking year after year, and do something to avoid it. For a start, it must look into the reasons why, despite a ban on the use of metal wire and celebratory gunfire, violations continue to occur. It must ensure complete compliance with these restrictions.
A particularly dangerous aspect of the sport is the application of various kinds of new and lethal materials - as opposed to the traditional and harmless ones - to lend strength and sharpness to kite strings. Now that kite flying enjoys official patronage, like any other sport, the government must devise rules for it with a view to ensuring that the string is not sharp enough to cut people's throats.
The implementation of such rules would certainly be difficult but not impossible. If it is still an impracticable idea, then the government should earmark special arenas for both the competitors and spectators so that the other parts of the city remain unaffected. The idea has to be to provide enjoyment to kite fliers and other fun-seekers while ensuring the well being of both the participants and non-participants.