The Punjab Youth Festival for the year 2013-2014 kicked off on December 23. In the first phase, competitions have started in 55,200 neighbourhoods and villages where competitors will take part in over 300 events in 29 different categories. This phase will be complete by February ‘14 when the successful competitors in preliminary rounds will qualify for provincial level contests.

As per the schedule announced so far, there will be attempts at setting up new world records in 25 different categories. The schedule says there will be games between different sports teams from Pakistani Punjab and Indian Punjab aside from a film festival, a youth theater festival, a jeep rally, a book fair, an IT fair, a shopping festival, an art and craft festival, a horse and cattle show, a tattoo show, an international freestyle wrestling competition, a paragliding championship and so on.

The organisers are expecting the participation of 6.5 million individuals in the festival which, if it so happens, will be a new world record. The existing record is of 3.2 million participants, recorded in the Punjab Youth Festival (PYF) of 2012. This feat was also acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Record last year.

Given this backdrop, an encouraging development is that the Punjab government has announced to hold a one-week Basant festival at Changa Manga Forests or Jallo Forest Park -- yet to be finalised -- as part of the festival.

It also plans to start special trains to carry passengers to the finalised venue.

This was an afterthought and that is why basant festival was not mentioned in the PYF schedule printed before this decision was made.

TNS talked to stakeholders this week and sought their feedback on the development.

Khalid Malik, President of Kite Lovers Association, welcomes the announcement and hopes the government will also find a way to extend the duration and make kite-flying a year-long activity.

For now, it’s going to be a one-week event which, Malik says, is too short a time for kite lovers to enjoy fully.

According to Malik, the organisers claim they will be able to accommodate 35,000 people per day in basant activities. This means 2,45,000 people will be able to participate in the event in these seven days.

The number is too small when compared to the 5 million figure who participate in basant, as given by the government in 2003-2004, he adds.

Malik suggests the government should also consider other options such as distribution of free antennas to be placed on motorbikes to avoid accidents. Besides, the government shall enforce safe kite-flying laws and punish the violators regardless of how strong and influential they are. This way the activity will remain concentrated within the city and ensure participation of millions of people.

His point is that basant is a household event and not every one will have interest in going to a distant place to celebrate it.

Khawaja Nadeem Wyne, President, Lahore Kite Flying Association, says he is relieved to find that the government has finally thought about reviving basant, although at a limited scale. He adds the government plans to give approved thread and kites to the revelers itself, but it has not yet contacted the people associated with this home-based industry. These include kite-makers, thread-makers etc.

His point is that if the government is serious about holding the event, it should start placing the orders by inviting stakeholders and taking them on board now. No doubt this can test the thread and kites before approving them for use and making final payment against the orders it places, he adds.

He insists thread and kite manufacturing is an art which cannot be achieved overnight. The government cannot produce the required material without contacting the people involved in kite-making for generations. "It is imperative that they start working on orders as it’s manual work and takes time to complete."

Wyne remained highly active when former Pakistan Horticulture Authority (PHA) Director General (DG) Kamran Lashari and his team turned basant into a high profile cultural event of Lahore. He recalls how they used to involve corporate sector and hire rooftops on for basant celebrations. The event, he says, used to create huge economic and cultural activity but could not continue beyond 2005 due to the malpractices of a handful of people.

Rauf Roofi, spokesman of Punjab Sports Federation (PSF), confirms government plans of holding basant in a safe area like Changa Manga Forests or Jallo Forest Park but adds many things are yet to be finalized. The final decisions will be made shortly after which the required homework will start without delay, he adds.

Roofi says it has been decided there will be no registration fee for kite-flyers and they will be able to enjoy it as a cultural event. The government will make special logistical and security arrangements and facilitate the participants to the maximum.