mid-day editorial: Safety gear is a must for Matheran tourists

A little girl from Mumbai has suffered grievous injuries in a freak accident at Matheran. The eight-year-old girl, who is in hospital, suffered head injuries after her horse bolted when a monkey swung at the horse and startled the animal, say some reports.

While reports state that the animal reacted suddenly and there was little the handler could do, a number of grievous accidents and fatalities on the hill station now raise the question whether horse riding, which is synonymous with Matheran like its red mud, needs to be closely monitored and certain rules and regulations should be in place for horse owners and their handlers.

First, we must listen to horse experts and top jockeys, many of whom have actually weaned their skill in Matheran, that you must ride slowly. You need to trot and at the most, canter on open stretches, galloping is suicidal in Matheran, where the roads are not in top notch condition. Most of the time, tourists in Matheran wear jeans, t-shirts and sandals, but they have no helmet.

They get on a horse and think they can just set off. They take horse riding very casually. There are several low tree branches, and if one is going at some speed, the rider may not have the reflexes to duck. In other instances, and none of this is applicable to the little girl, tourists are even seen arguing with the handlers or disobeying them. Sometimes, there is one handler for two horses.

We may have a case for making safety gear compulsory for visitors and holiday tourists who go riding for a lark. A top class riding helmet should be non-negotiable. The time has come for authorities to regularise horse riding in Matheran, from experienced handlers to safety gear for holiday makers and in this way, stop trips from turning into tragedies.

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