Man injured by twine as kite flying goes unchecked

LAHORE:A man was injured by a stray kite string in the Millat Park area on Sunday. Four persons have lost their lives and over two dozen citizens got injuries due to kite flying during the current year. However, the Lahore police claimed nine injuries and four deaths due to kite-flying.

The injured man identified as Afzal, 27, was on his way to bazaar when a stray kite string fell on him and left a deep wound on his throat. He was shifted to hospital. The ban on kite-flying is still intact, but the Lahore police have failed to control the situation and carry various reasons to defend it, including overload of extra activities due to coronavirus. The open and secret practice of kite-flying leaves kites stuck in branches of trees, and the strings attached with them hang like a sword on roads to slit open the throats or cut other parts of innocent men, women and children.

On May 10th, a youth falling victim to kite flying in the limits of Islampura police was just 18-year-old Usman, son of Muhammad Yousaf. While riding on his way along with his brother Ali Haider, his throat was slit by kite twine. He was rushed to Mayo Hospital where he died. The victim hailed from Narowal and worked in Lahore.

Police failure in implementing the ban on kite-flying resulted in the killing of another young man in the Factory Area police limits on March 24, 2020.

The victim was identified as Danish, 25, a resident of Azad Kashmir. He was living in a rented house in Sufiabad. He was on his way on a bike from Chungi Amar Sadhu when a stray kite string hit his neck. As the result, his jugular vein was badly cut. He was rushed to hospital in a rickshaw where he died.

Similarly, a young Dolphin Squad official died after string of a stray kite slit open his throat in the Nishtar police area on February 15, 2020. Identified as Safdar Ali, the constable was going back home in the Barki area on a motorbike after completing his duty when the kite string left a deep cut on the neck and he died on the spot. The unbridled practice demands the divisional SPs of the Operations Wing discourage the lethal practice. Massive and partial kite-flying was witnessed on Sunday in the areas of Gujarpura, Shalimar, Harbanspura, Wahdat Colony, Millat Park, Baghbanpura, Mughalpura, Shera Kot, Sabzazar, Kot Lakhpat, Factory Area, Samanabad, inside the Walled City, Ravi Road, Shafiqabad, Ichhra, Township, Green Town, Sanda, Islampura, Shahdara, Badami Bagh, Shadbagh, Ghaziabad and Iqbal Town.