E-Rickshaw Trial Commences In Matheran
Gajanan Khergamker | Matheran
Horse-owner Asha Kadam is enraged. The president of Matheran’s Sthanik Ashwapal Sanghatana (Matheran Resident Horse-Owners’ Association), with 160 members who own 234 horses, is convinced that there will be flagrant misuse of the e-rickshaws. “These,” she maintains, “have been permitted only for school-children, the elderly and the sick.”
So, when the e-rickshaw trial commenced on 5 December with five e-rickshaws being pressed into service, the leader dashed off a letter in protest to Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council CEO Surekha Bhange.
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| Matheran CEO Surekha Bhange flagged off the e-rickshaw trial on 5 December 2022 |
“The three-month trial of e-rickshaws has commenced and we’re already witnessing a complete stoppage in work for our horses. Not a single horse was taken for a ride from Dasturi Naka to Matheran on the very first day and, if this trend continues, we’ll be finished,” she spews.
“The trial of e-rickshaws follows years of struggle and petitioning all the way till Supreme Court,” says retired teacher and Matheran resident Sunil Shinde who has ensured Matheran residents’ e-rickshaw dream becomes a reality.
“The e-rickshaws are needed to ply children long distances from their homes till their school. Everything needs to keep up with time and it’s time e-rickshaws arrive. The inhuman practice of hand-pulled rickshaws, yet in practice in Matheran, comes to an end and is replaced with e-rickshaws. They don’t even pollute the place like other fuel-run vehicles,” says Mr Shinde who calls it ‘a win-win situation’.
Also, he maintains that the e-rickshaws will not be plying from ‘point-to-point’ for which the horses will have to be used. “All that talk of the horses being left without work is baseless and driven by fear for which there’s no remedy,” he adds.
The horse-owners aren’t quite convinced about it. “If today e-rickshaws are permitted to ply, what will stop residents and tourists from bringing their own e-vehicles to Matheran,” says Ashatai as the leader is popularly known.
“We already have ambulances in Matheran which have been running for patients in need, for years now. What was the need for e-rickshaws which are bound to grow into a menace and bring our livelihood to a halt,” she says.
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| Matheran resident horse-owners' leader Asha Kadam (extreme right) met the CEO to register their protest |
“I have received a communication from the horse-owners detailing their concerns and will put it up before the relevant authorities such as the Matheran Monitoring Committee,” says the Matheran CEO when approached by The Draft. “We are following the Supreme Court order strictly and will abide by it,” she says.
The e-rickshaws have arrived and the trials have commenced. It’s in this three-month period that all issues regarding passenger safety, environmental concerns and local needs may be raised before the relevant authorities and, concurrently, addressed before a final decision on the same is taken.
Asha Kadam’s letter of protest, on behalf of the Matheran Resident Horse-Owners’ Association, detailing the initial concerns is the first in the line of protests that will need to be examined and, concurrently, addressed if need be.
