Each year, Basant is celebrated across Pakistan by flying kites, despite the fact that it is banned owing to the fatalities and injuries associated with kite flying. Though law enforcement agencies endeavour to limit kite flying, the general public, particularly the youngsters, leave no stone unturned in making the festival a ‘success’. They do not understand the fact that kite-flying is prohibited for their safety, and for the safety of other citizens.

A few days back, I happened to be in the Emergency ward of DHQ hospital, Rawalpindi. In those days, one could see numerous kites soaring in the sky in that area. No doubt, there had to be injuries linked to them.

In just over an hour that I spent there, I witnessed at least four individuals coming to the emergency ward and getting their profusely-bleeding wounds stitched. Further alarming was the fact that all of them were young children. One child had a deep cut from his thumb up to the index finger due to the kite string or rope. Another one had a similar cut on the palms of both his hands. Blood was dripping from the two injuries and they had to be stitched, which is a painful procedure and it added to their suffering.

Apart from injuries due to kite strings endured while flying kites, we hear much news of youngsters losing balance and falling from rooftops while chasing kites. That day, I saw a victim of such a mishap. He was a young boy and was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state. There was vomitus over his clothes; he had sustained an injury to his brain. We were apprised that he had fallen from the roof top of his house during kite-flying. Even after an hour of medical treatment, his condition was critical!

When I came out of the emergency ward, the headlines came to my notice that a 20 years old boy had passed away due to an accident during kite-flying. Such fatalities happen each year, and aspiring, bright lives are lost.

After witnessing all these scenes, I was saddened to see that, in front on the mosque within the premises of DHQ hospital, there were two young boys flying kites completely unaware of the havoc kite-flying had created! When a few of the elders tried to stop them, the children paid no heed to their advice.

Kite flying is not only a threat to those who fly them; it can also be really dangerous for the travellers on road, particularly those riding motorbikes. The strings of kites frequently get entangled in trees, street lights and in pylons. Moreover, they are almost invisible until one comes really near to them. Those on bikes can, therefore, get serious injuries due to the strings coming in their way.

The authorities have been making efforts to stop kite-flying, but they certainly cannot succeed in their mission until the general public cooperates. If the youth remains adamant in celebrating Basant by flying colourful kites, the hospitals will continue to attend patients with serious injuries due to kite strings, unconscious patients after falling from heights while chasing kites and we will continue to see kite strings spanning across the width of roads and posing a serious threat to those walking and riding motorbikes on those roads.

Injuries take a long time to heal and mostly leave visible scars for the entire life, a dead person cannot be brought back to life and it is unfortunate for a young boy to die while ‘celebrating’ the event. It is high time that we realise the gravity of the situation and care about our well-being and that of our dear ones and fellow citizens. There are so many other ways to celebrate an event, but please say a big ‘NO’ to kite-flying!

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 22nd, 2025