The Punjab government has announced that Lahore will hold its Basant festival from March 12 to 14 next year. The announcement, made on Friday, comes with tight controls on how kites and their materials are made and sold. Kite flying will also be banned in certain zones close to Allama Iqbal International Airport.
A notification issued on Friday by Deputy Commissioner Lahore Muhammad Ali Ijaz allows kite flying across the district during the three days, except in designated prohibited zones. The notification was issued with prior approval from the provincial government. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif had approved a 10-day Basant festival and called it a major festive gift for residents, but the province did not issue a formal notification after her announcement.
Rules for making, registering and selling kite materials
Under the notification, issued under the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Act 2025, manufacturing of permitted kite materials is allowed from September 5, 2026, to March 14, 2027, but only with valid digital registration. Buying materials from manufacturers, transporting them and storing them will be allowed from February 1 to March 14, 2027. Sales to the public will open on February 10 and run until March 14, and they can only be made through registered sellers.
Manufacturers, traders and sellers must sign up through the Punjab government’s E-biz app or the dedicated Basant registration portal. Registered businesses must display their certificates at approved premises and keep full records of their stock, sales and the movement of materials. An authorised officer of the deputy commissioner can ask to see these records at any time. Only materials listed under the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Rules 2025 and the Punjab Kite Flying Regulations 2025 may be made, moved, stored, sold or used during the permitted period.
Flying kites outside the permitted dates will carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of Rs2 million, according to the restrictions announced.
Limits on kite dimensions and string composition
The notification sets maximum sizes for two kite types. A ‘patang’ may not exceed four and a half githi in width, 35 inches in width and 30 inches in length. A ‘gudda’ is capped at one and a half tawa, 40 inches in width and 34 inches in length.
The notification also governs the kite string, or ‘dor’. It must be wound in the shape of a ‘pinna’, made of cotton, carry no more than nine threads and have a minimum count of 28. Any permitted coating must contain glass powder with a mesh size of at least 350. Only laundry starch, 350-mesh glass powder and rice flour may be used to prepare and treat the string. Other chemicals, adhesives, hardeners, abrasives, metallic substances and strengthening agents are banned. The making, sale, transport, storage, possession and use of ‘charkhis’, sharp ‘maanjha’, metallic wire, nylon or plastic cord, and any other string coated with sharp or harmful materials are also prohibited.
Rooftop inspections and motorcycle safety rods
The Punjab home secretary has instructed the Lahore district administration to make sure rooftops used for kite flying are structurally safe before Basant. Property owners must build boundary walls at least 3.5 feet high by December 31 and carry out repairs to rooftops, parapets and stairways at permitted locations before that deadline. Responsibility for a rooftop’s structural soundness rests with the owner, and building owners must also secure electrical wires running close to rooftops before the festival.
The deputy commissioner has been asked to arrange inspections of rooftops on old buildings and houses. If an inspection report is unsatisfactory, kite flying must be banned on that roof. The deputy commissioner can also seal buildings where the announced directions or applicable law are violated.
According to the home secretary’s instructions, Lahore traffic police will fit safety rods free of charge on more than two million motorcycles before Basant. Motorcyclists will have to follow the prescribed safety measures, including fitting these rods, under the rules and guidelines issued by the Punjab Home Department. The notification also directs all government departments, attached departments, agencies and organisations to help the district administration and police enforce these conditions. Registered kite-flying associations are expected to coordinate with the deputy commissioner and authorised officials.
Airport approach and take-off zones stay off limits
According to the notification, kite flying will not be permitted in designated areas that fall within the aircraft approach and take-off paths of Allama Iqbal International Airport. The approach path covers Nadirabad, Gulshan Ali Colony, Nishat Colony, Bhatta Chowk and Blocks R, S, P and Q of Defence Housing Authority Lahore. The take-off path covers Al-Faisal Town, Jorraypul, Canal Bank Road adjacent to Tajpura and Tajpura. The restrictions are meant to keep kites away from designated aircraft movement corridors.
Kite flying in other parts of Lahore will remain subject to the notification’s conditions and all applicable safety regulations. The government has directed the district administration and police to enforce the rules strictly throughout the permitted period. With the three-day schedule now notified, the authorities are preparing a regulated framework for Basant 2027. It covers the supply chain for kite materials, rooftop safety, traffic precautions and restrictions around the airport.
