Meghalaya man rides horse to town to beat expensive taxi fares in West Khasi Hills

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NONGSTOIN | SEPT 16, 2020: 

By Richard Marngar 

In this era of fast cars and fast planes where time waits for no one, the day-to-day life passes by in a blink of an eye. But there emerges a face in the crowd who cares little or none about the evolving trend around him. 

Meet 55-year-old Westar Tongwah of Nongkdait village near Mawrok in Rambrai West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya who still uses his horse to travel from one place to another.

A treat to the eyes, Tongwah was seen riding his horse in Nongstoin town on Monday, September 15, much to the enjoyment of the spectators. 

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In a conversation with TNT – The Northeast Today, Westar Tongwah said that he was heading towards Seinduli village, which is around 28 km from here and it took him three hours to reach Nongstoin from his village. 

Tongwah said, he learned to ride a horse from childhood and he used to travel from one place to another on his horse; but with time, he stopped riding and moved along with the changing pace. 

He, however, decided to revert to the old mode of transportation during the lockdown period.

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"Due to shortage of vehicles in my village and due to huge transportation cost, I have to use my Koh-mut (Horse) for travelling to far off places," he said.

He said that he trained his 'Koh mut' in such a way that he can ride not only in remote areas but in town areas as well.

"In these hard times, I will prefer to ride with Koh mut since I need only grass to feed him, not like cars that cost petrol and other charges" he added.

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