Matheran opens for tourists with strict pandemic protocols

The horse jockeys have been the worst hit, as tourist operations have remained shut most of last year at the hill station

After being shut for several months, the quaint town of Matheran has opened up for tourists. Shopkeepers and hotel owners, who are dependent on tourism for their income, have heaved a sigh of relief.

Welcoming the move, Sunil Shinde, the secretary of Shramik Rickshaw Sanghatana, said, "I would like to thank CM Uddhav Thackeray and MVA government for restarting tourism in Matheran. Since last year, locals have only been in business for four months. Since the pandemic is here to stay for a while, the only way ahead is to take precautions. The toy trainsshuttle service operates from Aman lodge station to Matheran won't be functional on weekends and we have requested the CM to write a letter to the central railway to keep it open during weekends."

On Saturday, hundreds of tourists visited Matheran and enjoyed nature at Asia's only automobile-free hill station. On June 14, mid-day had reported how despite Mumbai and its suburbs opening up, about 2,000 tourists were sent back from Matheran. The decision did not go down well with the locals whose survival solely depends on visitors, and they held a protest demanding that the guests be let in.

The residents of Matheran have suffered huge losses ever since Covid-19 struck last March. Some of them, particularly the horse carriage owners, have been surviving on help from the good Samaritans of the city.

"I run a seafood restaurant in Matheran and because of lockdown, business has been badly affected as we struggled to pay staff salaries, and water and electricity bills," said resident Mihir Bagde.

Another resident, Mukesh Shah, owner of Ronak provision stores, said, "We are happy to see tourists back in Matheran. All the shopkeepers are taking necessary precautions and tourists, too, are responding in a positive way by following the Covid-19 norms."