Matheran horse owners begin indefinite fast over paver block work, shut services since Monday

Paver blocks are being laid on the roads of Matheran, and horse owners' associations in the town have turned aggressive over the work. They began a business shutdown on Monday, and since then not a single horse has gone out on Matheran's roads for business. With the administration not paying attention, all the horse owners have now started a hunger strike at Shriram Chowk.

This is the second time the horse business has been shut over the same issue. As the municipal council is taking no action, the dispute is likely to escalate.

The associations say the administration has taken no firm action on the horse owners' pending issues. The local horse owners' association and the Mulvasi horse owners' association therefore launched the agitation. The horse shutdown has been on since Monday, October 26. An indefinite hunger strike then began on Thursday, October 29. The fast is being held at Shriram Chowk under the leadership of horse owners' association leader Asha Kadam.

The administration has not decided on the poor condition of the roads, substandard clay paver blocks, dilapidated horse stands, permissions given for work on heritage bungalows, and issues concerning e-rickshaws. This is why the association has turned aggressive.

Clay paver block work is under way from the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue to the Khandala Point road. The association has questioned the quality of this work. It has demanded that the quality of the work be checked and that substandard work be stopped immediately.

It had been said that stones and soil removed during the Charlotte Lake conservation work would be used for roads and other works. The association has demanded that details of where this material was used be given and that a full account be made public.

E-rickshaws have started operating on the directions of the Supreme Court. However, the horse owners' association has asked how 26 e-rickshaws are running when approval was given for 20, and why no decision has been taken on the demands of hand-rickshaw pullers. The association has also sought answers on the permissions given for heritage bungalow works and on the repair of the dilapidated horse stands.

Asha Kadam, president of the horse owners' association, expressed displeasure that the issues of the horse handlers remain unresolved despite repeated correspondence. She said that, following the horse shutdown, it had therefore been decided to begin an indefinite fast unto death from today. All eyes are now on whether the administration will take a firm decision on the demands of Matheran's horse handlers.