{"id":37315,"date":"2026-01-23T18:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=37315"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T18:00:38","slug":"punjab-cm-warns-of-strict-penalties-for-illegal-kite-flying-during-basant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=37315","title":{"rendered":"Punjab CM warns of strict penalties for illegal kite-flying during Basant"},"content":{"rendered":"
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz\u00a0announced on Friday that strict penalties would be enforced during the upcoming three-day Basant festival from February 6 to 8, warning that anyone caught flying kites outside the designated dates or violating safety rules could face fines, imprisonment\u00a0or other legal action.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a high-level meeting on the festival, the chief minister\u00a0said the event would\u00a0be launched on the night of February 6, with formal celebrations beginning the next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to return happiness to the people of Punjab,\u201d she said, arguing that the public had been pushed away from recreation and celebrations. \u201cEveryone in Punjab has the right to celebrate festivals,\u201d she added, citing occasions such as Eid, Holi, Christmas\u00a0and Ramazan.<\/p>\n

She described Basant as a historic spring celebration dating back around 800 years, calling it \u201cpart of Punjab\u2019s culture and heritage\u201d and noting that the world recognised\u00a0Punjab\u2019s cultural significance.<\/p>\n

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\n\u2014 PMLN (@pmln_org) January 23, 2026<\/p>\n

Acknowledging the tragic incidents previously associated with Basant, CM Maryam emphasised that public safety was the government\u2019s top priority. \u201cIt is regrettable that a festival like Basant had become linked with accidents,\u201d she said, adding that a comprehensive safety plan had been prepared.<\/p>\n

She explained that Lahore would be divided into red, yellow, and green zones, with areas reporting kite-string incidents designated as red zones. Motorbikes would only be allowed in red zones if fitted with safety rods, and riding without a rod would incur a Rs2,000 fine. \u201cOne million motorbikes in Lahore will be fitted with safety rods free of cost,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Outlined restrictions on kite-flying include:<\/p>\n

\tOnly \u201cpinna\u201d cotton strings of nine threads will be allowed; spools, nylon, and metal wire strings are banned.
\n\tKites and \u201cgudda\u201d larger than approved sizes are prohibited.
\n\tKite-flying outside February 6\u20138 will carry legal penalties, and parents or guardians will be held responsible for illegal kite-flying.<\/p>\n

CM Maryam further\u00a0warned, \u201cThe use of prohibited string could lead to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to Rs5 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that rewards would be given to anyone providing information about violations.<\/p>\n

The permitted sizes during the festival will be a 35-inch kite and a 40-inch gudda. Ahead of Basant, authorities have already registered more than 600 cases, arrested 641 people, recovered over 27,000 illegal kites, and obtained more than 10,000 surety bonds from stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Public safety, monitoring, and transport arrangements<\/p>\n

The chief minister further said 4,000 police personnel, along with workers from the Suthra Punjab initiative, would be deployed, with monitoring carried out via CCTV cameras and drones. She added that traffic, police, fire brigade, ambulance, and health plans had been prepared.<\/p>\n

A special traffic plan includes 100 traffic police camps. To discourage risky motorbike use, the government will provide free rides: 500 buses, free travel on the Orange Line, Metrobus, electric bus, and feeder buses, and 6,000 Yango rickshaws offering 60,000 rides across 24 routes.<\/p>\n

Special control rooms have been set up at Safe City and the commissioner\u2019s office for 24\/7 monitoring. CM Maryam urged the public to avoid misinformation or rumours.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasant is a historic and cultural festival, but kite-flying is a public safety issue, not a joke,\u201d she said, underscoring the government\u2019s commitment to a safe and joyful celebration.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz\u00a0announced on Friday that strict penalties would be enforced during the upcoming three-day Basant festival from February 6 to 8, warning that anyone caught flying kites outside the designated dates or violating safety rules could face fines, imprisonment\u00a0or other legal action. Speaking at a high-level meeting on the festival, the chief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}