Lockdown: Matheran residents forced to depend on animals again

Residents say the train timings did not sync with local business hours

With the train services shut and no vehicles available, Matheran residents are back to animals to ferry their essentials. Central Railway, that had begun a freight train for the benefit of residents, have shut it for a few weeks now and the trucks that are allowed inside the eco-sensitive town are yet to be registered, leaving residents in the lurch.

mid-day has been reporting how residents have put up a fight to get some form of transport to ferry essentials. The 6,500 residents are dependent on about 460 horses and a few hand carts for essential supplies.

A local resident, Sunil Shinde, said that there is now a limit on the number of cylinders that one horse can carry, leading to a further spike in prices. "Instead of four, one horse can now carry just two gas cylinders. We are still not getting essentials at a fair market price," he said.

Locals say now there is restriction on the number of gas cylinders a horse can carry

"On the first day, two train services ran between Aman Lodge and Matheran station carrying 105 packages of essential goods weighing about 27 quintals (2,700kg), but as days went by there was no response to the train and it was running empty. Hence we were forced to discontinue it," a CR spokesperson said.

"The train timings were wrong and did not sync with the local business hours. Moreover, the train used to halt at three places to load and unload goods. Road vehicles are still a dream. All this has led to problems of essentials as we are back to ferrying essentials on horses and ponies," Shinde added.

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