Singles unwelcome in Matheran Hotels at the hill station, even the state-owned MTDC, turn away solo travellers, fearing suicides

Singles unwelcome in Matheran

Hotels at the hill station, even the state-owned MTDC, turn away solo travellers, fearing suicides

Matheran, Asia’s tiniest hill station and getaway for stressed-out Mumbaikars, has turned into a dampener for solo travellers. Singles looking for accommodation in any of the numerous resorts and lodges, including state-owned Maharashtra Tourism Department Corporation, are denied accomodation because locals believe solo travellers are more prone to committing suicide in their rooms. The bias against singles is so strong that the local police have around 40 khabris who tip them off the moment they see a single traveller. “Our informers track single travellers the moment they set off from Dasturi Naka (starting point of the hill station),” says an officer from the police station, who did not wish to be named. Assistant police inspector OR Mayekar says: “We try to help single travellers find accommodation after verifying their identity in case someone comes to us for help.” However, DNA found that the rumour may be baseless. On investigation at the local police station, it was learned that in the past five years, not even one such case has been reported from any of the lodges. “I like backpacking alone,” says Raj Nandan, who had to return from the hill station last week after being refused a room. “In over a decade of travelling, I have never seen such discrimination against solo travellers.” A manager at MTDC says that they don’t provide accommodation to single persons on the spot. Only if solo travellers book in advance will they be given a room, he adds. “It’s just that giving (singles) rooms is dangerous.”