LAHORE: The city of Lahore has been divided into Red, Yellow and Green zones as part of the plan aimed to celebrate a “Safe Basant” scheduled from Feb 6 to 8.

The zoning is part of a coordinated strategy to manage operations, monitor safety, and regulate kite flying during the festival.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Lahore Commissioner Marryam Khan to review the arrangements for Basant, including roof surveys in inner Lahore conducted by the Public Building Safety teams. Houses identified as high-risk will receive warning notices. Walled City Public Safety teams and Lesco will remain in the field to implement safety measures. While a Basant Central Command and Control Center has been established at the DC Office Lahore. Rescue 1122 will conduct exercises in open areas, and LWMC will carry out cleaning campaigns across the city before and during Basant. All departments, including police, Civil Defense, Wasa, Transport, and Pera will remain on duty to support the district administration and maintain operations round the clock during the festival.

The Red Zone covers areas with higher past incidents of kite flying and requires close monitoring. Activities and movement will be regulated, and motorcyclists must install safety rods. These areas include Walled City, Mall Road, Lakshmi Chowk, Mughalpura, Harbanspura, Shimla Hill, Dharampura, Shadman, Nishtar Colony, Multan Chungi, and Defence.

The Yellow Zone includes areas surrounding the Red Zone where kite flying is allowed under supervision and safety requirements. These include MAO College Chowk, Ichra, Qartaba Chowk, Dubai Chowk, Barkat Market, Bhatta Chowk, Saddar, Askari-10 and Allah Hoo Chowk.

The Green Zone covers areas where kite flying is allowed under standard safety rules and monitoring. These areas include Liberty Chowk, Wateen Chowk, Gajju Matta, Gulberg, and Bhobtian Chowk.

The commissioner emphasised that kite flying was prohibited in the district before February 6. She said that free safety rods for motorbikes were being distributed under the Kite Flying Ordinance 2025. The commissioner instructed all food suppliers to install safety rods on their motorbikes immediately. Citizens were also requested to cooperate and follow safety instructions to ensure operations run smoothly, she added.

The meeting was attended by DIG Operations Dr Faisal Kamran, Lahore DC Captain retd Ali Ejaz, Director Javed Chauhan, Walled City DG Najam Al-Saqib, ADCG Zukhruf Fida, and representatives from Rescue, MCL, LWMC, Wasa, Transport, Pera, Energy department, Civil Defense, and other departments.

Azma: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Saturday that SOPs would be implemented during the Basant festival to ensure the safety of citizens, allowing people to enjoy the celebrations in a safe, pleasant and responsible environment.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2026