LAHORE: The Punjab Home Department informed the Lahore High Court on Wednesday that 17 people died during the recent Basant festival in Lahore.
Authorities held the three-day festival from February 6 to 8 after lifting an 18-year ban under strict regulations. However, despite extensive safety arrangements, officials recorded more than 100 accidents linked to the event.
Justice Owais Khalid heard a petition seeking details of fatalities and injuries during the celebrations. In its report, the home department stated that three people died from electrocution, while two lost their lives after falling from trees. Additionally, 12 individuals died after falling from rooftops during kite flying activities.
Court seeks injury data amid legal challenge
The court also directed authorities to provide details of individuals injured by kite strings. However, petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Azhar Siddique, argued that the data had not been furnished.
Earlier, the LHC had summoned a police report while hearing petitions filed by the Judicial Activism Panel and others challenging the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Ordinance 2025. The ordinance paved the way for the festival’s revival after it was banned in 2007 due to rising deaths caused by sharp kite strings and celebratory gunfire.
Under the new law, officials permitted only thread-based kite strings and strictly prohibited metallic or chemical-coated strings. Moreover, authorities divided Lahore into three designated kite-flying zones with round-the-clock surveillance and mandated protective wires on motorcycles to prevent neck injuries.
Following the event, Maryam Nawaz Sharif praised officials for organizing what she described as a safe festival, stating that no deaths resulted from kite string injuries.
