On Friday, Dec. 2, 2005, the PakTribune of Islamabad, Pakistan reported that the ban of the manufacture of kites and coated kitelines as well as the flying of kites during the Basant Festival was finally taking hold in the country today.  This comes after some strong action by the Justices of the Supreme Court.  Last week ocal officials were called to a conference to explain why they were not enforcing the ban imposed by the Court October 24, 2005.  After reinforcement by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court it appears that these officials have gone back to their jurisdictions and are now enforcing the ban.

 The ban was implemented for safety reasons since many people are injured annually and there is frequent power interruptions due to kite metallic coated kite lines shorting out the power grid.  On occasion, deaths of innocent people have also been recorded due to the effects of the sharp glass and metallic coatings on kite lines.

ARKANA, December 03 (Online): The district administration has imposed ban on all kinds of kites flying within the city vicinity following issuing of Supreme Court in this connection.

 

As per details, District Coordination Officer Larkana Haji Khuda Bakhsh Larik under the directives of Apex Court on suo motu case No. 11 of 2005 had imposed ban on all kinds of kites flying including its manufacturing, selling, distribution and making of kite flying strings.

After this, the order came in force with immediate effect. The DCO also directed the police officials including the elected representatives, Taluka Nazims Larkana, Ratodero, Dokri and Bakrani for implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in letter and spirit.

Full story in The PakTribune.com. 

It may be that the "law of unintended conseuquences" was a factor in the impediment of full enforcement of a ban on kite making in Pakistan during the Basant festival when so many kite flying injuries and power outages occur.

 In a special meeting today of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and regional Inspectors General of Police it appears that the law was not being enforced due to fears that an immediate ban on kite manufacturing would cause a recession and result in thousands of people losing their jobs.

It appears that a suggestion has been made that  district nazims be asked to explore new avenues for employment of all those people who were involved in kite manufacturing.  This could be a large and daunting task.

Again, it will be interesting to follow developments as this story continues to unfold.  In my thinking, I wonder how such a complete ban on kite manufacture and flying during the spring festival can be accomplished when kites are so deeply imbued in Pakistani culture.

Complete news of this latest development is found in the story by Mohammed Kamran in today's Daily Times of Lahore, Pakistan. 

Concerned about the apparent lack of enforcement of the ban on the manufacture and flying of kites during the month of Basant (the spring festival) in Pakistan, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan today summoned regional policing officials to a meeting.

The Daily Times of Lahore, Pakistan reported today that federal and four divisional Inspectors General of Police were directed to explain their actions in not enforcing the ban on kite flying and kite manufacure which was originally imposed on October 24, 2005 (see earlier Best-Breezes Journal entry).

Several serious incidents with kite flying (power failures and personal injury) have occurred since the Supreme Court ban.  Apparently this has caused the Chief Justice to seek statements as to why enforcement of the ban is not being undertaken. 

Saturday, November 19, 2005
Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
By: Mohammad Kamran

"IGPs summoned for not enforcing kite flying ban

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took stern notice of the violation of a ban imposed by the Supreme Court (SC) on kite flying and manufacturing and summoned the four inspectors general of police (IGPs) and the federal IGP seeking their reply on the matter.

The IGPs will hold a meeting with the Registrar of the SC on Sunday (tomorrow) and make a comprehensive plan to implement the ban on kite flying in addition to giving explanation for their failure in complying with the court’s orders.

Fourteen days ago, the SC had imposed an initial one-month ban on kite manufacturing, flying, selling and buying across the country. The order was passed out in a constitutional petition filed by a lawyer from Lahore who said that each year a large number of people, particularly children, fall prey to the sport. The counsel of the Lahore Electric Supply Corporation (LESCO) also submitted that LESCO installations worth Rs 1 billion were damaged while 15,566 trippings were recorded in one month of the kite flying season. The court directed district nazims and IGPs to ensure implementation of the ban and that in case of violations, the IGPs were to be held responsible. The bench also directed people to send complaints regarding violations of its order to the registrar. The bench observed that it could not allow any activity which is potentially fatal to continue. Talking to Daily Times, Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain confirmed the scheduled meeting and said the petition was pending in the Supreme Court and a report on Sunday’s meeting with IGPs will be presented to the bench on the next date of hearing."

 It will be interesting to follow this story in the coming days.

The large bird-like khleng ek musical kite is an icon of Cambodian culture. Yet it almost disappeared during the repressive regime of the Khymer Rouge during their reign of terror from the early 1970's to the mid-1990's. khleng_ek_1.jpg It is amazing to me that the flying of kites can be seen as something that must be banned by radical governments. Most recently it was the ban on kite building and flying in Afghanistan during the rule of the religously based Taliban regime. However, before the Afghan situation there was the ban on kite flying instituted by the radical Khymer Rouge 'government' of Cambodia when they seized power in the 1970's. Only recently has the long established tradition of flying these special Cambodian musical kites been resurrected. Since the re-establishment of a normalized government in Cambodia the traditions of making and flying kites during the harvest season has slowly been gaining strength and is growing across the nation. Some background . . . . . . . . During the wars that swept the South East Asian countries in the 1970's, a local Communist movement known as the Khymer Rouge emerged in Cambodia. The Khymer Rouge began a large-scale insurgency against government forces in 1970, quickly gaining control over more than two thirds of the country. The strength of the Khmer Rouge rose dramatically from around 3,000 in 1970 to more than 30,000 in 1973, enabling most of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops who were controlling Cambodia to withdraw.

Click to read more ...

Another unfortunate accident has occurred with a large kitesurfing foil.  This time a good samaritan went to the aid of a kite surfer in difficulty and wound up with some serious injuries.  Grabbing the kite in an effort to help the kitesurfer, the concerned helper got picked up and carried three quarters of a mile (over 1 km) in 40 mph winds before being dropped on some jagged rocks.

 Stories like these constantly remind me of the power of the wind and the skill needed to handle large kites.

Kite surf rescuer hung on for dear life.    Abby Alford, South Wales Echo, Nov. 8, 2005

 A good Samaritan who raced to the aid of a stricken kite surfer sparked a major emergency when winds of up to 40mph blew both her and the kite away.

The 27-year-old was swept up and dragged and lifted for three quarters of a mile across the popular beauty spot of Rest Bay in Porthcawl.

Then, to the horror of her boyfriend, she dropped from the kite and landed on jagged rocks in the next beach along the coastline, leaving her with potentially serious injuries.

Coastguards, paramedics, the police and the South Wales air ambulance were called to the surfing hotspot yesterday afternoon.

icWales - The National Website of Wales - Nov. 8, 2005 

Spectators and kiters alike are always awed by the large kites and traction displays at kite festivals.  However, experienced kiters know there is real responsibility to be exercised in flying these very special and very powerful kites.  It serves as a reminder to me to always stake out large stationary kites prior to launch.  A different set of safety precautions is necessary for the mobile traction kites on land, water and snow/ice.