About 80 tongas, which have so far been parked in open areas in the city due to the absence of proper stands, will soon get a stand with water facility for horses.
The Department of Tourism has decided to construct six stands in different parts of the city after consulting tonga owners.
“The owners have been demanding that the administration provide better stands owing to the large number of tourists. Based on their demand, we have identified six places where the stands will be constructed,” said District Tourism Officer, Mallikarjun Bhajantri.
Speaking to The Hindu, he said the stands will come up at Gol Gumbaz, Jamia Masjid, M.G. Circle, Shivajir Circle, Taj Bawadi, and Ibrahim Roza.
He said that before construction of the stands, a meeting with the owners will be held to elicit their opinion on it.
“During the meeting, they listed out places which are suitable for constructing the stands. We will be constructing them and each stand can provide space to park six tongas at a time. The stand will also have water facility for horses. The entire project will be completed at the estimated cost of ₹37 lakh,” he said.
He said that the primary objective of giving shelters is to provide different places where tonga owners could not only park their carts but earn a better livelihood.
“As of now, there is no designated and covered stands for tongas in the city. Therefore, most of them park either outside Gol Gumbaz or near M.G. Circle. If they are put in different places where several tourists visit, then they will get better exposure,” Mr. Bhajantri said.
Hamik Khan, a tonga owner, said that if the government provides standard tongas, then it will help owners earn a little more. “Today, we earn around ₹300 to ₹400 a day. Half of that money goes to buy fodder for the horses. Unless, the government makes some plans for us, this ancient mode of transport will become history,” he said.
