HORSE VS HORSEPOWER | Tongas: Sopore’s traditional mode of transport on verge of decline

Sopore: Tongas, the horse carts that used to be the traditional mode of transportation in Sopore, north Kashmir’s apple-rich township, for centuries are on the verge of decline.

Recalling the times when tongas were the only means of transportation in Kashmir, Muhammad Subhan, 65, a tongawalla from Sopore, says horse carts used to be the main mode of transportation, both in towns and villages of Kashmir.

“Tongas used to be a good source of economy for hundreds of tongawallas,” he says.

Although in some parts of Kashmir like Sopore town, a few tongas still ply on its lanes bylanes, locals feel nostalgic when recounting the times tongas were the only mode of transportation in Kashmir.

Subhan says that earlier horse carts were also used on marriage occasions to ferry the bride and the groom.

“Tongas were also used to ferry goods from one place to another,” he says.

Subhan says that decades ago, in both urban and rural areas of Kashmir, people used to hire a tonga to reach their destinations, covering long distances on the horse cart as there was no better mode of transport then.

A differently-abled tongawalla, Shameem Ahmad Dar, who hails from Reban Rafiabad says he had a passion for riding horse cart.

“I was 19 when I started riding a tonga. Those days, it was also a good business. I used to ferry hundreds of passengers throughout Sopore town and make a handsome earning,” he says going down the memory lane.

Dar says that in the 1990s, he used to earn a lot of respect for being a tongawalla as people in Sopore were “fully dependent” on this means of transport.

“There were very few passenger buses those days, and hardly anyone had a private vehicle. So my tonga was highly admired,” he says. “Now, people feel insulted while travelling in a tonga as this is the age of cars and motorcycles. Nowadays, I find it hard to earn a livelihood.”

A group of tongawallas in Sopore say that the main reason for their downfall was the advent of auto-rickshaws.

They say that the new generation of tongawallas feel insulted at riding a tonga.

The people, who used to be associated with dealing in accessories related to tongas have also changed their profession.

“There are only a few people who come to us to buy tonga accessories like horseshoes, saddles, wheels, tyre rubbers, and other related accessories,” says Irshad Ahmad Shalla, who has been associated with this business for decades.

Shalla says that it was now impossible for him to feed a family on this business and so he had decided to change this business to another one.

Many tongawallas say that it had become difficult for them to feed their family as they now earn only around Rs 200 per day compared to the decent earnings they used to make in the past.

However, with the demand for Tongas declining over the last decade, they say it has become difficult for them to sustain their livelihood and take care of their families.

A few years back, the Baramulla district administration attempted to shun the tongas in Sopore town.

The authorities replaced the tongas with three-wheelers citing the reason that the tongas were creating a nuisance of traffic jams due to slow speed, and foul smell emanating from the horse dung on roads.

However, like Muhammad Subhan and Shameem Ahmad Dar, many tongawallas are resisting the pressure of modernisation and continue to make their livelihood from the tongas.