Nirupama Viswanathan By Express News Service CHENNAI: Families who, for generations, own horses for joyrides on Marina beach, are grappling with finding alternatives over a month after being relocated to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements at Perumbakkam. Nearly 40 such families had been living at Pallavan Nagar at Chintadripet. The horses were usually tied in stables opposite Chepauk stadium. Now, many have sold their horses for a loss while some have brought them to Perumbakkam. Families, evicted from their long-time residences in the city to the outskirts at Perumbakkam, often have to lose their jobs due to the shifting. When he was 10 years old, Rathnam (name changed) was taught by his father to ride and take care of a horse. Now 32, he, like his father, takes people on horse rides at Marina beach for a living. “I used to make up to `1000 a day when I had my own horse. After they brought us here, I had to sell it off for as low as `35,000,” said Rathnam who claims to have purchased the animal, nicknamed ‘Eli’ (Rat), for `one lakh. He now travels from Perumbakkam to Marina everyday, rents a horse from a friend on a daily basis and earns `300. Srikanth S, on the other hand, paid to transport his two horses.“Now, they just stand here all day and it costs `1000 daily to feed them. I usually charge `8,000 for a day to rent a horse with the chariot. Nobody here has shown interest so far,” he said. A few others have taken on an additional expense of renting a room near their horses “My family stays here (Perumbakkam), while I have rented a room for `1000 in the city to take care of our three horses. I come here once or twice a week or whenever my family needs me” said Krishnamurthy, another horse owner.

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