Jubilation all around as people celebrate last day of Basant

The excitement of the people of Lahore was at its peak on the third and last day of Basant, the festival of colours, on Sunday as they flew kites and danced to drumbeats to celebrate the occasion, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

There was a loud noise on the rooftops of homes as kite flyers shouted ‘bo kata’ to express their merriment at the downing of kites.

They said that the festival had shown a soft image of Lahore to the world.

People thronged Liberty Chowk along with their families and posed for photographs with their kites in order to make the festival memorable.

Great rush of people was also witnessed at Delhi Gate.

City News Network organizes Basant mela at NCA

Meanwhile, Basant mela is underway at Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA) under the auspices of the City News Network.

Men, women and children flocked to food stalls on the third day of Basant.

Similarly, painting workshops were also organized in which people took keen interest.

Children enthusiastically participated in painting competitions.

However, some people had to pay a heavy cost of celebrating the festival as in one of the incidents a 10-year-old child fell from the rooftop of his house in Shahdara and died.

It is after 18 years that Basant has returned to Lahore thanks to the efforts made by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who made it sure that the festival should be held.

The festival had been banned in view of loss of lives of people due to slitting of throats by kite string.

While a majority of people welcomed the revival of the festival, there were some who were opposed to the idea, saying that it would again lead to deaths.

Reporters: Afshan Rizwan, Samra Fatima and Saeed Ahmad