Season of Joy The excitement over Basant was unlike anything I have seen. From February 6-8, the Punjab government lifted a ban on the Basant festival, albeit with strict regulations in place. These rods were mandatory and were being given for free by the government to protect the motorcyclists from kite strings. The rods are put in place in front of bikes so that kite strings do not entangle the motorcyclist or passengers. Basant made headlines around the world: ‘Basant: Lahore kite festival returns after decades-long ban’, ‘How Basant became Lahore’s signature festival in Pakistan’ and so on.

Source: The Telegraph February 19, 2026 03:01 UTC