New York: Indian Teen’s Death Ends 160 Year Tourist Tradition

Article by Kumar Published on: 5:23 pm, 23 October 2026

Horse riding for tourists in New York city of USA has a long history of 160 years. But, this tradition is going to end in less than two years from now as the City Council has officially passed a major law to ban traditional horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park by June 1, 2028.

The decision was taken to honour the death of Indian origin tourist who died earlier this year in an unfortunate horse riding accident. The new regulation is officially named “Romanch’s Law” in memory of an 18 year old Romanch Mahajan.

The heartbreaking accident happened on June 17 when the carriage horse got frightened and went on a wild rage while the driver was taking family pictures. As the carriage speed increased, Romanch tried to help his mother who fell off, but he suffered fatal injuries during the crash and died in hospital.

This heartbreaking accident has once again sparked widespread concern among the public about ending this decades long tradition. Moreover, animal rights activists, organizations like NYCLASS and many local leaders have been pushing for a ban on this culture.

On Thursday, the council has finally decided to end the practice and delivered a new legislation to stop issuing licenses for new carriages. Animal rights groups strongly welcomed the move.

However, the decision faces strong backlash from carriage drivers and union leaders. Even President Donald Trump also opposed the decision. He posted online that he was deeply saddened to see the historic Central Park industry shut down over a single tragic accident.