 Mumbai, July 9: The Victoria may soon need a memorial in Mumbai.
The horrific
deaths of two horses in full public view last week has suddenly raised a
clamour for a ban on the art deco-style French carriages, introduced in
the city by the British in 1882 as cabs.
Silver-coloured
and fitted with neon lights, the Victorias now ferry merrymakers and
tourists along Marine Drive and around the old part of the city.
Haggard,
malnourished and ill-treated, the horses that pull these carriages meant
for three mostly end up carrying six to nine persons, making 10-15
trips of a 5km to 7km stretch.
Over the past year
and a half, many of the overworked and underfed horses have collapsed
and died on the streets but last week’s deaths were particularly tragic
and witnessed by many.
On Sunday July 1, a
horse died when a taxi rammed into it outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus, formerly Victoria Terminus. The horse was not tied to a
carriage at the time — the owner’s friend had borrowed it for a bareback
ride around town.
On Wednesday, a
horse tugging a carriage loaded with nine passengers instead of the
stipulated three collapsed and died of exhaustion outside the Gateway of
India.
Two days later,
Bombay High Court accepted an intervention application by animal rights
body Peta, which put its weight behind an ongoing public interest
litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on the horse-drawn carriages.
The PIL, alleging
cruelty towards the animals, was filed last September by the
Mumbai-based Animals and Birds Charitable Trust (ABCT) and had so far
been a cause limited to lunching ladies and committed animal lovers.
Bolstered by
support from Peta, which counts Hollywood and Bollywood stars among its
friends, the ban-Victoria cry has even reached the state legislature.
“The chief
minister has been approached by many influential citizens to find a way
to ban the Victorias. Many MLAs too are talking about the issue,” an
aide to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said.
“Apart from the
cruelty issue, the matter also relates to finding alternative employment
for the people involved in this business. We have to look into all
things. The matter is sub judice; we’ll consider action only after the
court gives its verdict.”
In an interim
order, the court has asked Maharashtra’s lawmakers to find alternative
sources of employment for the men who handle the horses.
There are 170
horses in Mumbai, including ponies. Of these, around 40 are used for
rides on the beaches and gardens; the remaining 130 pull Victorias.
“A study by the
ABCT last year showed that the horses are made to stand all night with
their legs tied. We have submitted the study to the high court,” trust
counsel Aspi Chenoy said.
Last year, the
court had directed the civic body to send the horses to a 6.36-acre plot
of open land provided by the trust at Panvel, about 40km from Mumbai,
after the ABCT undertook to take care of the animals, and feed and
transport them.
The court directed
the deputy commissioner of the civic health department and officials of
the trust and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to work
out the logistics for the shift. Both parties are still trying to figure
out the logistics.
Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte said that of the 10 horse stables in Mumbai, nine are illegal.
“We last issued a
licence for a stable in 1974. We keep issuing notices to horse owners
who keep their animals in illegal stables. But under the Bombay
Municipality Act, owners whose horses are seized for violations can
redeem them after paying Rs 2,500,” he added.
Last month, when
Peta held a demonstration at Azad Maidan demanding a ban on horse-drawn
carriages, nearly 5,000 people turned up in support.
“The Municipal
Corporation of Delhi made a landmark decision to ban tonga horses in the
city in 2009 and recently scrapped a proposal to use ceremonial horse
carriages for tourist rides. Mumbai needs to follow in the footsteps of
Delhi, Paris, London, Toronto, Beijing and other cities and ban the use
of horse-drawn carriages,” Chenoy said.
Is Calcutta listening?
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120710/jsp/frontpage/story_15711334.jsp
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