Killer Kites

It occurs every basant, an annual festival celebrated in South Asia. The thread of the kite, sometimes reinforced with shards of glass or metal, injures hundreds and kills dozens of people, mostly children.

In 2005, as reported by news24.com...

At least 20 people were killed and nearly 200 injured overnight in the Pakistani city of Lahore while celebrating the kite-flying Basant festival to mark the arrival of spring, news reports and hospital officials said on Monday. The deaths, mainly of young children, were caused by the use of metal-wire for kite-flying, aerial firing, and people either falling from rooftops or killed in road accidents while chasing kites.

The government banned kite flying in 2006 but now the ban is being lifted for this years event.

Its tragic that such an innocent fun-filled festival causes so many fatalities. Though, instead of banning kite-flying, the government should crack down on the kite makers who utilize glass and metal to make the threads. That's where the problem lies. Banning an age old tradition, passed down for centuries, would just simply be a further kill joy in a society already starved of entertainment.