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.