RAWALPINDI: City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Ahsan Younas has directed the police officers concerned to continue crackdown on the kite sellers and flyers and take strict action in accordance with the law against the rules violators while over 104,000 kites and 2900 kite flying string rolls were recovered and as many as 330 kite sellers and flyers were sent behind the bars during January and February.

According to a police spokesman, Rawalpindi District Police arrested 175 violators of the ban during three days of Basant, Friday to Sunday, in operation conducted against those allegedly involved in kite flying, aerial firing and violation of loudspeaker, act.

Police also seized over 12,000 kites, more than 300 string rolls, kite flying material, sound system, weapons and ammunition from their possession.

Police used drones and other cameras to trace violators of the ban from the roofs of houses, plazas, hotels and buildings across the city particularly in Cantt areas.

On the special directives of CPO, SSP Operations, Shoaib Mehmood, SP Potohar Syed Ali and other senior police officers visited various areas and supervised the crackdowns against the violators.

Despite ban on kite flying, imposed by the Punjab government, Pakistan Kite Flying Organisation, Rawalpindi chapter had announced dates to celebrate ‘Basant’ in Rawalpindi cantonment and city areas. The organisation had announced Feb 18 and 19 for Cantt areas and Feb 25 and 26 for City areas of Rawalpindi. The dates were announced for the Basant festival through Facebook and the youngsters and kite lovers had reportedly started preparations and the kites and kite flying string rolls were being purchased from online suppliers.