LAHORE: An important inter-departmental meeting has been convened for Thursday to finalise arrangements for Basant, with the issuance of licences to kite traders and retailers topping an agenda that also covers building safety, inter-district transport of kites and twine, and the enforcement of approved kite and string sizes.
Officials said the meeting follows an earlier round held with kite manufacturers, and moves the licensing framework down the supply chain to traders, retailers and their representative associations.
Heads of all relevant departments are expected to attend, including the district administration, Lahore police, the Suthra Punjab authority, the Walled City of Lahore Authority, City Traffic Police, LESCO and Rescue 1122. The breadth of the invitation list reflects how far the festival has moved from a purely cultural event to a licensed, regulated public gathering with a formal safety architecture around it.
Related: Basant 2027: Lahore’s Roads to Be Decorated in Categories, PHA Says
According to sources, the meeting will review applications and criteria for the issuance of licences to kite traders, retailers and associations, alongside the movement of kites and twine from other districts into Lahore — the single hardest link in the chain for enforcement teams to police. A date for the formal issuance of trader and retailer licences is likely to be settled at the same sitting.
Sources said the arrangements will be built on the experience of the last safe Basant, which the administration regards as a successful test case. A preliminary plan comprising safety rods on motorcycles, free transport arrangements and a set of allied measures is expected to be tabled.
Building safety will also be examined — a recurring concern in the older quarters of the Walled City, where rooftops carry loads far beyond their design capacity on festival days.
Kite flying and the surrounding arrangements will be regulated under the Kite Flying Ordinance 2025. Officials said a strategy will be drawn up to ensure compliance with the prescribed dimensions for both kites and string — the provision that separates a licensed, regulated festival from the free-for-all that led to the original ban.
The size restrictions matter for a specific reason. Fatalities historically associated with Basant were caused overwhelmingly by metallic and chemically coated twine, and by oversized kites requiring heavier string. Capping both is the mechanism through which the province has attempted to preserve the festival while removing the hazard.
Enforcement is already running in parallel. Lahore police have sustained a crackdown on manufacturers and suppliers of chemical-coated twine through the pre-festival period, and further raids are expected as the licensing calendar firms up.
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