With Lohri, Basant Panchami round the corner, kites featuring farmers’ protests fly high
LUDHIANA : With the festivals of Lohri and Basant Panchami drawing near, kites with messages and imagery of the ongoing agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws are doing a brisk business in various markets of Punjab.
Kites with messages such as ‘No farmer No Food’ and images of tractor-trailers are receiving good response from buyers, especially in Ludhiana’s Daresi, Field Gunj and Chaura Bazar, the hubs of kite trade.
Also, kites with pictures of Punjabi singers, particularly those associated with the stir, are also recording encouraging sales. Besides, kites with New Year greetings and pandemic-related messages are being sold.
Sanjiv Kumar, a kite trader at Daresi, says, “There is a great craze to buy kites with profarmer slogans.”
Last year, kites with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders did good business. But not this time, says another kite trader in Daresi.
“The images on kites are a reflection of what is popular and sought after. In Punjab, people are sup[porting the farmers protesting at Delhi’s Singhu and Tikri borders,” said Jaspal Singh Bunty, a kite trader at Chaura Bazar.
The kites with pro-farmer slogans are being sold at a premium, he says.
“The price of a kite ranges from Rs 15 to Rs 100. Some people are making custommade kites as tall as 10 feet. Some customers demand image of a tractor or some slogan on the kite and are ready to pay extra for it,” he adds.
Davinder Singh Sondhi purchased nearly 1,000 kites and as many string rolls for the farmers camping at Singhu and Tikri.
“Kite flying is popular among the young and the elderly alike. Since thousands of farmers are pitching at Singhu, we have decided to take kites for them to celebrate the occasion,” said Davinder.