In a city where people do not have respectable minimum floor space to travel in trains, the state transport department has stepped in to offer a comfortable ride to animals.
“We can no longer say ‘Mumbai commuters travel like animals’,” said Subhash Gupta, a member of National Railway Users’ Consultative Committee.
In a city where people do not have respectable minimum floor space to travel in trains, the state transport department has stepped in to offer a comfortable ride to animals. It will amend the motor vehicle rules and offer them “minimum floor space” on vehicles used to transport them.
Mumbai’s suburban train network is among the most crowded in the world. A World Bank study during the launch of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project had estimated a density of up to 14 to 16 people per square metre in local trains. Though conditions are slightly better today, overcrowding remains a major issue, along with pathetic travelling conditions.
Animals, however, won’t need to worry about such issues. The new clause specifies a square metre space for animals with and without wool, deer, pigs and cattle based on their weight, or number of animals to be transported, in a healthy condition.
According to the draft document, an animal with wool weighing not more than 20kg should be allotted 0.17sqm, while an animal who has been sheared of equal weight should be given 0.16sqm. A minimum floor space of 0.20sqm should be allotted to every deer and pig being transported in the vehicle.
The rules state that cattle weighing 200kg should be allotted about 1sqm and those above 400kg should be given 2sqm.The rules also chart out space requirement for cattle during transportation, depending on the size of the vehicle, its floor space, and cattle weight, with limitations on the number of animals allowed per vehicle.
Gupta added, "Even animals will now have more room during travel, but not people."
Animal activists in the city, however, have welcomed the decision. K Sunish Subramanian, animal welfare officer and founder of Plants and Animal Welfare Society said now, the focus should be on proper implementation of the rules.
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