Victoria carriages lucrative business with four ‘major players’

Contrary to popular notion that Victoria horse carriages are a poor man's livelihood, it is an established and growing industry with around 25 per cent of the business being controlled by only four persons. These four own 32 of the 130 licensed Victoria carriages in the city and 42 of the 187 registered horses, according to an affidavit filed by the traffic police in the Bombay High Court. The court is hearing a case seeking a ban on Victoria carriages.

Raju Thakkar, who has 10 Victoria licences in his father Pravinchandra's name, owns 12 horses. "The number of horses keeps changing. I bought my current lot of horses around three years ago, each costing around Rs 2 lakh. Each of my Victorias costs Rs 3-4 lakh. This is our family business, which we have been doing for the last 80-90 years," he said.

An animal activist said, "Many of the Victoria horse owners have multiple carriages. They employ drivers for the buggies and keep 70 per cent of the earning themselves, leaving the driver with the rest, most of which goes into paying for the horse feed. Some owners are reasonably rich, with a decent house and car. This is why they are opposing the ban."

A Victoria carriage ride typically costs Rs 100 per person. Though the rules allow only three passengers on board, most carriages allow five to six people to ride at a time. Carriages at locations such as the Taj Hotel and Gateway of India can earn as much as Rs 3,000 in an evening.

"The owners make huge profits from the carriages and little is left for the poor horses. Also, our team has noticed when one horse dies, another replaces it in no time. A poor man would find it hard to keep buying new horses," said Poonam Mahajan, advisor to People for Animals.

... contd.

ALSO READ

In a first, BMC to survey children under 14

Teen raped at birthday party, sold to man

Alleged bomb planter Siddiqui claims ATS threatened to kill him

Cops pin hopes on CCTV footage to arrest acid attack accused