Captain, Padayappa, Sulaiman and five other horses used to trot back alone to their stable inside Pallavan Nagar after a day of carrying people on joyrides on the Marina. However, they now have to find a new home to return to as the Public Works Department has evicted encroachments along the Cooum.
Over 1,000 families, living in Pallavan Nagar, along the Cooum river, behind MTC headquarters, for the past many decades, were evicted recently.
All the families were shifted to tenements in Perumbakkam.
At the end of the colony, in an empty space abutting the river, the eight white horses stood, tethered to trees.
‘Can’t take them’
The horses belonged to Srikanth, who lived with his family in Pallavan Nagar.
These animals were used for rides on the Marina beach and during marriages.
“Even if there is no one, the horse returns home on its own. They are pampered by us. We will now move to Perumbakkam, but we cannot take these animals along. We have to leave them here,” says Kamakshi, Srikanth’s wife.
Big earners
Twenty-five-year-old P. Appuraj, who has been handling the horses since he was six years old, said that each horse helps bring in around ₹300 a regular day and during the marriage season they get an income of ₹3,000 by giving the chariot and horse on rent. “I was taught to handle the horses and treat them with care. We feed them well and pamper them throughout the day. Now we have to travel every day all the way from Perumbakkam, bathe them and take them to the beach,” said Mr. Appuraj.
Farookh Ali, a horse trainer, feels that it would be helpful if the horses were given some space beneath the Chintadripet MRTS station premises.
“At least they will be protected from the rain and sun. The government should consider this,” he added.
