LAHORE - Dozens of supporters of Basant festival staged a demonstration at Charing Cross on Sunday, urging the government to allow peaceful Basant in Lahore.
Students, youngsters and elderly citizens from different backgrounds recorded their protest against the Punjab government for not allowing the Basant festival in the provincial capital.
Shahid Mehmood, 32, from Sherakot said he was a computer administrator at a private company. Holding replica of a kite, he said, “People of Faisalabad enjoyed kite-flying festival on Friday under the nose of provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan. People of Lahore should also be given permission to do so,” he said.
Historically, the Basant festival is celebrated every year to mark the beginning of spring.
The protesters were holding placards inscribed with slogans like, “We want safe Basant.”
Muhammad Umar Shafqat, 28, an information technologist by profession, told The Nation that people of Lahore would cooperate with the police and the Punjab government and point out those who make chemical-coated string for kite-flying.
“It is ironical that such a wonderful festival is dead now. It used to bring families together and people used to arrange bonfires, cook food and have fun on rooftops,” Shafqat said.
“Our rulers are instigating hatred among the youth. The youth, which used to spend their time with their families on such occasions, now finds solace in activities like wheelies, drugs, snooker clubs and sheesha cafes,” he said. Farooq, 45, was raising slogans in favour of a peaceful Basant festival. “People used to make beautiful clothes to mark Basant,” he said. “We are fully aware of dangers of chemical-coated string, but the government should plan it wisely and allow people to mark the beginning of spring,” Farooq said.
“No Basant, no vote for the ruling party,” he concluded.
The protesters said that last time Basant was celebrated in 2006 and the government of Punjab had earned five billion rupees on
this occasion.
They said that surely revenue would double if Basant is celebrated with safety measures this year.