The father of Indian teenager Romanch Mahajan, who died in a horse-drawn carriage accident in New York’s Central Park while trying to save his mother, made an emotional appeal to the New York City Council, requesting lawmakers to ban horse-drawn carriages and ensure that “no other family” suffers a similar tragedy.Addressing a City Council hearing on Wednesday (local time), Deepak Mahajan fought back tears as he called for immediate passage of the proposed legislation, which is expected to be named after his son.“Now we are asking you plainly, ‘Act now’,” Mahajan told the Council, as quoted by news agency IANS.He said that if the Council had approved a similar proposal last year, the carriage rides would have ended before the accident.“If this law had been passed, the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026, and my son would have been alive,” he said, as quoted by IANS.The Mahajan family was visiting New York from India to celebrate Romanch’s recent high school graduation when they decided to take a horse carriage ride through Central Park.According to officials, the driver stepped away from the carriage to take a family photograph when the horse suddenly bolted.As the carriage lurched forward, Romanch’s mother, Priya Mahajan, was thrown off. Romanch jumped from the moving carriage in an attempt to save her, but struck his head on the ground and suffered fatal injuries.Calling the incident avoidable, Deepak Mahajan said, “This was not an unpredictable accident. It was a safety violation, a system’s failure to protect the people who visit our city, your city, and everyone responsible has admitted the driver should never have left that carriage.”Recalling the family’s loss, he said, “A young boy came to America full of dreams and left us far too soon.” Priya Mahajan, seated beside him, held up a photograph of her son with angel wings during the hearing.Mahajan also spoke about the family’s grief.“He took his last breath in his mother’s arms, while his 11-year-old brother and I stood watching. Now we live inside that day over and over again. We are shattered. Our whole family is shattered. The pain does not go away,” he said.“We came to New York as a family of four. We are learning hour by hour to cope with life as we are three now,” he added.According to IANS, Romanch had recently graduated from Angel’s Public School in Mamun, Pathankot, and had secured admission to Manipal University Jaipur, his father told the Council.The US trip, he said, was meant to celebrate those milestones.Supporting the proposed legislation, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin described Romanch as a hero.“Romanch died in an act of heroism as he tried to protect his mother. Now, a law named in his honour will protect countless others: residents, tourists, humans, and horses,” Menin said, as quoted by IANS.Outside City Hall, Romanch’s aunt, Sovia Thukral, urged lawmakers to back the legislation.“I am standing here in support of Romanch’s law, so that his death will not go unremembered,” she said.“Death forces society to change, so that no other family has ever to carry what we carry now. Please remember his name, Romanch Mahajan.”The tragedy has started a decades-long debate over horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City.Animal rights groups have campaigned for nearly four decades to ban the tourist attraction, arguing that it poses risks to both public safety and animal welfare.The fatal accident took place last month near Cherry Hill in Central Park. According to the police, the horse bolted after the driver stepped away to take a photograph, causing the carriage to collide with another carriage before overturning.Romanch suffered a severe head injury while trying to rescue his mother and was later declared dead at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. The rest of his family sustained minor injuries.
'Act now': Indian teen Romanch Mahajan's father urges NYC to ban horse carriages after son's death
