Monday, March 13, 2006

Kite flying as an extreme sport

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Kite flyers arrested in Pakistan

From the above article:

Kite flying is a traditional part of a festival marking the advent of spring in Punjab, but on Thursday the Pakistani authorities introduced a ban.

The prohibition came in after a number of deaths, mostly in Lahore, caused by glass-coated or metal kite-strings...

Kite flyers compete to keep their kites in the air, whilst downing those of others.

But they often resort to using wire or glass-coated strings to cut the strings of rival kites.

When the strings fall across roads, however, they pose a danger to people passing on motor-bikes.

Metal kites can also cause short-circuits in overhead power cables, leading to heavy losses for electricity utilities.

No comments: