50 ponies of Jorhat races perish in floods

 Held since 1877, the historic annual horse race organized by Jorhat Gymkha Club will face shortage of ponies next year

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT, Aug 19: At least 50 horses which were a part of the historic Jorhat races are feared to have perished in the recent floods which had hit hard the Jhanjimukh area about 35 km east of Jorhat town.

Several of these horses (read ponies), belonging to the Mising community residing along the bank of the mighty Brahmaputra, were part of this year’s races which was held in the first week of February.

“We have lost at least 50 horses in the floods this time. There will be shortage of horses for the races from next year,” said Horen Tai, a jockey who hails from Tinighoria village, one of the several helmets located in these flood plains of the Red River, as Brahmaputra is also called.

Jhanjimukh is located in the confluence of the Jhanji river and the Brahmaputra and annual floods cause devastation in these villages located in the area.

“The entire area was inundated for several days during this year’s floods. Although the waters have receded in the last couple of days, large areas are still submerged,” Horen said.

 Such has been the devastation over the years that Tinghoria itself had to shift at least three times. “The village was earlier located about 10 km inside the river,” ren Tai, a elderly villager said. The Mori Jhanji river, another tributary of the Jhanji river, crisscrosses the village.

 The present location of the village is such that one has to cross the Jhanji river on boat to reach it.

The races, which had started at Jorhat Gymkha Club --- a watering hole for tea planters --- on January 16, 1877 under its first honorary secretary C.I. Showers, have been an annual event at the club ever since. British planters used the hybrid horses used by them for transportation in these races. As other modes of transportation took over, tive breeds from Mising villages replaced the hybrid ones.

A unique feature of the horses is that they have no saddles and the riders ride them bareback at the races. According to records at the Gymkha Club, the local breed of horses took over at the races since 1940.

The horses are let loose by the villagers on the chapories (sand bars) of the river during the off season to fend for themselves, and brought to the vilages only about a month before the races. Horen said there were no signs of at least 50 horses this year after the floods. “We have searched various chapories in the last few days looking for the horses but there were no signs of them,” he said.

He said that these horses could have been swept away by surging waters of the Brahmaputra and drowned.

Hardeep Singh, a member of Jorhat Gymkha Club, which organizes the annual races, said the villagers have informed the club authority regarding the development.

“We on our part are organising flood relief for the villagers as well as the horses,” Singh said. He said that since there would be hardly any grass left for the horses to feed upon after the floods, the club would be distributing fodder for the horses soon.