8-year-old suffers two skull fractures after falling from horse during joyride

Rashida at the Matheran Municipal Hospital

The safety of horse riding in Matheran, one of Mumbai's favourite weekend gateways, is yet again under the scanner. And this time, it's after an eight-year-old girl from the city met with a freak accident.

Rashida Hassan Radiowala suffered grievous injuries to her head after the horse she went riding on went out of control, dragging her along the rough patch of the road. Rashida was vacationing with her family in Matheran.

The child was rushed to the local municipal hospital, where doctors provided her with emergency care. "There were two major head injuries when the victim was brought in. The right side of the head was massively swollen, and she received eight stitches on the left side," said Dr Uday Tambe, medical officer at the Matheran Municipal Hospital. She was then moved to Saifee Hospital, Girgaum, in an ambulance on Saturday afternoon.

"Concerns have been raised time and again. Some of the boys who handle the horses are not trained. Often, two to three horses are dealt with by a single person, so they cannot pay attention to each horse," said Sunil Shinde, secretary of the Shramik Rickshaw Sanghatana. "Horses are mostly preferred over handcarts in Matheran. We have sent a proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forest to introduce battery-powered rickshaws, but there has been no response yet," he added.

Hasan Radiowala, 36, the victim's father, said, "The horse moved past control suddenly. Even the person in-charge couldn't do anything. Rashida has suffered two skull fractures and is being treated."

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