Maharashtra: Paver blocks to blame for Matheran death, say locals

On January 18 a visitor from Australia was riding down a slope in Matheran when the horse slipped and they both fell ldquoI am an experienced horse rider and the horse was just walking Yet it slipped because the surface was slipperyrdquo said Lisa Taylor Paver blocks have caused a spike in accidents here leading to death of two horses claimed several localsSpeaking of the accident Lisa Taylor from northern New South Wales in Australia said ldquoIt was frightening I came off the horse and fell scraping the skin off my arm and leg I was worried for the horse too which was injuredrdquoA horse that got hurt after slipping on the smooth pavers and fallingThe paver blocks are replacing Matheranrsquos mud roads as erickshaw trials are on in the hill station Taylorrsquos accident was before a young man from Mumbai perished on January 28 days after he fell off a horse in MatheranHigh riskVikas Arvind Ranjane secretary Sthaanik Ashwapal Sangathan mdash a ghodawalasrsquo union in the hill station said ldquoThe paver blocks are extremely high risk The horse is unable to stop as the paver blocks are slippery Rubber or plastic horseshoes are just temporary The numbers of deaths injuries and falls bear this outrdquoRanjane is backed by Irfan Shaikh a horseman Matheran lover and part of the union who asked ldquoWhen all evidence is before us and the ordinary people can see what is happening why are the authorities and the decisionmakers silent and turning a blind eye to this problemrdquoAsha Kadam president Ghodawalasrsquo Union said ldquoMore roads are being taken to be covered with pavers despite our numerous letters and at least three agitations about riding risks that the material posesrdquoAlso read BREAKING Four killed 3 injured in road accident on MumbaiAhmedabad HighwayUnsuitable for allMaria Vaz owner of one of the oldest hotels in Matheran said ldquoThe pavers are unsuitable for horses humans or handpulled rickshaws The Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council installs warning signs like lsquowalk slowly ride slowlyrsquo but the root cause of the injuries and even fatalitiesmdashthe paver blocksmdashcontinue to be installedrdquoMatheran loyalist Adil Gandhy who spends a huge amount of time in the hill station and has a home there said ldquoSeven horses have fallen and two of them have died in this preposterous paverblock era One thing is certain horses and paver blocks cannot go togetherrdquoExpert horsemen and locals admit that there have been accidents earlier too when there were no paver blocks ldquoHowever since pavers have been put in one definitely sees an increase in accidentsrdquo they saidOne is not even touching the bigger concerns about the degradation of Matheran as an ecosensitive zone as there are largescale fears of the erickshaw advent heralding the downfall of the hill station as a walkerrsquos a riderrsquos and a nature loverrsquos paradise the only novehicle hill stationThe other sideSurekha Bhange chief officer and administrator of Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council said ldquoThese roads have been made after discussions with all the stakeholders and the decision was taken by experts I have always addressed the concerns of ghodawalas When there is a slope even we humans walking on these surfaces have to be careful and the horse speed has to be monitored and the ghodawala has to be in controlrdquoSunil Shinde former schoolteacher and supporterinchief for allowing erickshaws in Matheran said ldquoThere have been a couple of instances of horses slipping These paver blocks are made of clay and horses have to be controlled to go slow on these surfacesrdquoShinde dismissed the argument about the environment being adversely affected by erickshaws ldquoInstead red mud is being taken from the forests and put on roads which exposes tree roots causing them to uproot Horses are also used on roads in places like Vaishno Devi They can wear rubber horseshoes for a better griprdquoShinde claimed that his heart hurts too when he hears of a horse or a rider getting hurt or dying in a fall ldquoThere are solutions like demarcating 10 km of the hill station solely for riding We also have the Matheran racecourse where tourists can be taken for riding and also learn riding thererdquoJan 28The day a 23yearold man succumbed to his injuries after falling off a horseSevenNo of horses that have been injured since paver blocks were introduced of which 2 have died