Horse power: Forget getaway cars, in Sukkur the tonga makes a comeback

As petrol prices go up, motorised public transport has become more expensive.

SUKKUR:

Inflation tends to bring with it martyred stories full of recrimination and unfilled prescriptions. The march of technology leaves in its wake steamrolled towns and ways of life. But every once a while, Nature triumphs. And in Sukkur’s case, the tonga makes a comeback.

“Unlike motorised vehicles, horses need to eat regularly,” Mohammad Kakepoto jokes dryly, while referring to the costs of keeping his trade alive. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been driving a tonga or horse-drawn carriage. Kakepoto’s horse Dilbar is just like any other member of the family. Its fodder costs Rs200 a day, whether he is working or not. When it gets sick, it has to be taken to the vet.

“It is very difficult to make ends meet, but we get by,” he says. But they are somewhat managing. One tonga can take up to six passengers and Kakepota earns Rs60 per trip from Clock Tower to the Sukkur Bypass. If he works all day, he can take home up to Rs450.

He attributes his good fortune to inflation. It is simply too expensive for people to take taxis or rickshaws any more.

There was a time when there were over 400 carriages in the city as the tonga was the only public transport. Rohri, Old Sukkur, Clock Tower, Dhak road, Barrage road and Mochi Bazaar all had tonga stands. “We used to charge one anna (1/16 of a rupee) per passenger from Clock Tower to Old Sukkur,” says Kakepoto. “I used to earn up to eight rupees every day and even after buying ample fodder for the horse, there was enough left for my family to have three meals a day.”

When the motorised rickshaw made an appearance, however, his business took a turn for the worse. “With the influx of rickshaws, the number of tongas kept going down,” he explains. “The final nail in our coffin was when Suzuki vans and wagons began running between Sukkur, Rohri and other routes.”

The number of tongas dropped to 30 as the machines took over. “People didn’t have time to waste,” he explains.

Then came the rise in petroleum prices. “Once again, people are opting for tongas over rickshaws and Suzuki vans,” he says, “they are too expensive”. Now the number of tongas in the city has risen to over 70, which, for Kakepoto, is a good sign.

Tonga driving is a family business, Razi Khan and Ghulam Hussain aka Kallan have also been driving them since they were children. Kallan is now over 70 and his horse looks just as old. “I earn too little and therefore eat too little and so does my horse!” he laughs.

Khan and his two sons are also running tongas. Together with his children and grandchildren he has 18 mouths to feed. He tried to switch to driving a rickshaw but went back to the tonga when he went into a loss. “I bought a rickshaw and started frequenting a local route. I don’t know what happened but instead of earning I started losing money. After losing Rs15,000, I sold the rickshaw and bought a tonga again.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.