Ever thought of reaching your work place on horseback everyday ? The day may not be far away if you are in Kerala where roads have virtually turned into swimming pools after the monsoon. A no-nonsense realtor in Kochi has now found it fit to reach the tennis court everyday on horseback rather than in his swanky cars or on two-wheelers.
On Wednesday, 60-year-old Mr Noorudin Mather rode the 3 kilometre distance from Ernakulam North to the Tennis Club located at Kadavanthara on horseback much to the amusement of the onlookers. “I found it to be the only viable way I could reach my destination in this mess. It has been at least 5 months since the roads turned this way and no one seem to care a damn,” he told Deccan Herald.
Mather who is also president of the Kerala Tennis Association has a Mercedes, Ford Ikon and Skoda Octavia. Not all of them are in good condition because of the rough ride every day. “I got plastered with mud when I tried to ride a bike too. The Skoda got dented underneath after falling on a big crater last week costing me a quite a fortune. It was then that I thought of turning to the 18th Century for solutions,’’ he said. Mather bought a stallion for Rs 40,000 through a friend at the Bangalore Race Course who also arranged a trainer. He admits that he did nurse a fancy for horses for quite sometime. “I wouldn’t have bought it now but for the condition of the roads.
It’s far too pathetic and something needs to be done,’’ he says. “I have decided to return to my car only when the roads become motorable,” he declared.
The LDF Government had been taking the stick for quite sometime for the abysmal condition of roads in the State which had turned into death traps because of frequent rains since June. Though the high court ordered the government to carry out the repairs immediately, it was easier said than done. “Since there has been no respite from rain, the contractors have been shying away from taking up repair work,” says Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.
The government realised the gravity of the situation only when vehicle accidents became a daily affair on these potholes claiming several lives. A ministerial committee has now been set up to oversee the repairs and complete them before October 15.
