Toronto bans Indian-type kite flying

Authorities have dashed the soaring desi spirits of the Indian diaspora in Canada!

Authorities have dashed the soaring desi spirits of the Indian diaspora in Canada! 8220;No kite flying allowed,8221; reads a bright yellow sign in a Toronto park where the city8217;s South Asian community used to gather to practice the sport they introduced to the country.

Kite flying is a favourite pastime of many local immigrants from Afghanistan,Pakistan,India,Bangladesh as well as China.

On weekends,they would bring their kites to the lush green 32-hectare park. Friends and families often joined them for a picnic or barbecue,and to bask in the sun.

But for some kite flying is not the peaceful sport beloved of children around the world,rather it is a more serious game known as kite fighting which can involve dozens of teams and hundreds of kites.

With highly trained teams,kites fitted with sharp nylon strings are launched into the air to slice through rival kites,with fights lasting from just a few minutes to a few hours.

But the summer fun came to a crashing halt on August 17 when the ban was introduced,coupled with a USD 100 fine for any violations.

Toronto councillor Chin Lee said the city enacted the measure due to safety concerns,saying Milliken park was littered with pieces of sharp nylon kite strings that risked cutting people8217;s feet and strangling birds.

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8220;I received at least 100 complaints from people over last three years,8221; he said.

The ban is to be reviewed in a couple of weeks. And dozens of protestors have pleaded with Lee,the main proponent of the ban,to overturn the measure and allow kites to soar again over Milliken Park.

8220;Let us fly kites8221; and 8220;Don8217;t ban kite flying,ban only synthetic string,8221; their colourful placards read at a recent rally.

Lee,who is of Malaysian-Chinese heritage,showed up at the rally holding rolled-up kite strings the size of baseballs in each hand,and voiced sympathy with their plight.

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8220;I myself have flown kites since I was a three-year-old kid,8221; he said.

8220;The problem is not with the kites,the problem is with the kites8217; strings,8221; he explained,saying strings were too often left on the ground after kite fighting matches littering the park. 8220;People are still complaining. They send me emails.8221;

8220;We need to sit down with all stakeholders and come up with a solution that works for everybody,8221; he said,promising to try to accommodate both kite flying enthusiasts from the largely ethnic Chinese and South Asian neighbourhoods,and opponents.