Horsemen of Himachal face uphill struggle for survival as they battle new rules and tourist attractions

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], November 25 : While the Horsemen in Himachal Pradesh hope for good business as the winter arrives, NGT orders loom large on Horse riding in Kufri restricting the number of horses to 217 per day.
Torrential rains, landslides, thunderstorms, water logging, and floods hit Himachal Pradesh in mid-year, claiming over 500 lives, and destroying thousands of houses.
During the disasters, the horsemen suffered a big loss as the tourists were not visiting the region. After the festivals and bad air quality in Metro cities and neighbouring states, the tourists started rushing to the hills and the weekend tourists have started visiting the hill queen. They believe that now with the passage of time and the arrival of winters, it will increase the frequency of tourist arrival and there is a need for shelter for the horses here.

Mushtaq, a horseman working at the historic ridge said "During the Corona period our business was badly hit and tourists were not visiting here. In the recent past during the past few days, the tourists have started coming. We were dependent on residents and local schoolchildren. We hope that if we get a good amount of snowfall during this winter, we hope to get a good business. As much as tourists come here on this historic ridge, the business of people involved in tourism will be benefited, it will benefit us as well."
The tourists here find the horse rides on the Ridge adventurous in pleasant weather conditions away from pollution in other parts of the country.

"The children are enjoying here, the weather is very good, the children are enjoying horse riding here, this horse riding is the glory of Shimla, we are enjoying the pleasant weather here in good Air quality level and we are enjoying here the post-festival break, it's good to be here," Sumit, a tourist from Delhi said.
The horsemen in the North Indian hill resort Kufri are worried after the number of horses has been restricted to 217 following the directions of the court of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The forest department of the state government has directed the horsemen associations to restrict the number of horses to 217 per day as keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the forest region in Kufri and Mahsu Peak, not more than 217 horses will be allowed per day in the region.
Thousands of tourists come to visit Shimla, the queen of hills. But most of the tourists prefer to go to Kufri for snowfall and horse riding. The residents employed in the tourism business believe that if there is no horse riding in Kufri then the tourists will be disappointed and no one would prefer to visit this part of the hill.

Scores of locals from 12 village Panchayats are worried about their business and the employment of hundreds of villagers involved in the tourism business through horses. These horsemen and residents are not ready to reduce the number as there are nearly 1029 horses registered with the district administration.
Ishwar Lal Chandel, President of the Horsemen's Association at Kufri said "We have nearly 1000 horses here and those running these horses here are farmers from the nearby villages. With one horseman there are dependencies of 15 families. Keeping in mind the employment here this decision of the NGT and the department will end our livelihood. The tourists, locals and other people will be affected. No tourists will come here after you reduce the number of horses as no one will wait to get a horse. We already held meetings with the Special Area Development Authority (SADA). We have been working here for the last 30 years. The forest department should fine those horses who are polluting and damaging the region but they should not hit our survival."
Tourists are taken on horse riding to Mahasu Peak in Kufri. This track is about 2 kilometres and it takes about 30 minutes. Due to the rough road, tourists are taken to Mahasu Peak by horse riding.
"We have 8 groups and we have 1029 registered horses. We are registered under the Special Area Development Authority (SADA). It has been imposed on us that we are responsible for the pollution here. I have been working here since 1982 where do these horses go and what will happen to thousands of people here? You can see the crusher plants responsible for the pollution, and hundreds of trees uprooted, it is not right to blame us. We will fight for this," said Rajinder Singh another leader of horsemen.
The tourists find it thrilling to get a pony ride in the hills here, they are also feeling discomfort after knowing that the number of horses will be reduced or removed.
"I think it is not good if you remove horses, I am going up here to travel on a horse. Tourists will not come here once the horses will not be here, it is a joy and fun ride," said Priyanka, a tourist from Kolkata.
K Thermal, Chief Conservator Forest Shimla Circle said "In Mahasu Peak and Kufri there are nearly 1000 horses registered with the district administration. Keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the forest area the NGT has restricted the number of horses to 217. We are in the process of implementing those orders. We want to develop the area for Ecotourism and we have an Ecotourism Society. We will try to do it on a rotational basis. We will get Revenue from the eco-tourism and the money will be used for developing the area."
A petition was filed in the National Green Tribunal on behalf of a Delhi-based lawyer.
According to this, the movement of horses in Kufri is further controlled due to which the environment and vegetation are being caused considerable damage. Not only are cedar trees being planted, but about a thousand horses are also working in 8 to 10 square kilometres. It has also been written in the petition that a lot of waste has spread in this entire area due to horse dung, due to which a lot of pollution has spread. The orders of the National Green Tribunal on July 22nd and July 25th are now being implemented after a long process of discussions, meetings and talks with the stakeholders.
The horses were used as a means of transport during the British era for British officials and their families; it included the horse carts. The horse rides at the Ridge here have been an attraction and now post-independence it is an attraction of tourists and considered as the glory of the city.