For many, Friday’s polling brings a long weekend getaway

Travel and tour operators in Noida and Ghaziabad said queries for this weekend getaway locations like Shimla, Nainital, and Rishikesh surged since last month

Noida/Ghaziabad: With Friday being a public holiday due to Lok Sabha polls, clubbed with the weekend, many city dwellers in Noida and Ghaziabad left for a weekend getaway on the election eve on Thursday.

On the other hand, some families planned to leave the city just after casting their votes on Friday morning. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Supertech Ecovillage-1, was heading to Bengaluru to take part in a Marathon, instead of casting his vote on Friday.

“My reason behind not voting is because I do not want to cast my vote either to the current government nor for the opposition, as none of them have done anything for the residents over the last two terms. Being a marathon enthusiast, I have booked flight tickets to go to Bengaluru on Friday to participate in a marathon,” said Kumar, who is also the president of Noida Extension Flat Owner’s Welfare Association (NEFOWA).

Travel and tour operators in Noida and Ghaziabad informed that queries for this particular weekend getaway locations like Shimla, Nainital, Mussoorie, Garh Mukhteshwar and Rishikesh surged in the past one month, with several making bookings for accommodation and transport for the long weekend.

“I got a large booking last week from a group of seven families, which includes five children and 15 adults, who left on Thursday evening to go to Ayodhya. The group has booked a tempo traveller to go to the Ram Temple and have booked hotels there as well,” said Adhikari, whose office is located in Gaur City shopping complex.

On the other hand, some families planned to leave the city just after casting their votes on Friday morning.

“My husband and I have made bookings at a hotel in Rishikesh for a three-day vacation starting Friday. Our polling booth is inside our society itself. Hence, we plan to go and cast our vote right at 7am and leave for the trip,” said Rajshree Aggarwal, a resident of Shipra Suncity apartments in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, on Thursday evening.

“It is not often that we get public holidays along with a weekend,” said Aggarwal, who is a software engineer at an IT firm in Sector 62, Noida.

On the election-eve, there were a few who failed to get their names on the voters’ list and hence were set to miss the voting. Hence, they too decided to go on a short vacation.

“As I was busy with my college examinations earlier this year, I missed the deadline to fill the form to get my name in the voters list. Hence, I will not be able to vote this time,” said Tanmay Malik, a resident of Kalyani Apartments in Vasundhara who studies at a private engineering college in Noida.

“But since it is a public holiday and our college will be closed, I decided to plan a trip to Nainital with my friends who are from outstation districts,” he added.

There were others, who said though they reside in Noida or Ghaziabad but their names are in the voters’ list of their native towns.

“While I have been working in Noida for the last two months, my vote is still in my town in Guwahati, Assam which will go to polls on May 7,” said Ruchika Bora, a resident of Sector 27 who works at a BPO in Sector 135, Noida.

“However, since we got a public holiday on Friday and weekend is also off from work, I am heading to Kasauli with my colleague, who is from Delhi,” she shared with HT on Thursday.

According to SK Maheshwari, a resident of Jaypee Wishtown society in Sector 128, Noida, several families who moved to the city in the last two years still have their votes registered at their old residences.

“We have several families in the society who live and work in Noida since the last two years. But they have not yet changed their vote from their previous residence to here. Most of these citizens have their votes in Delhi. I know multiple families who have taken vote day as a public holiday and have left for a long-weekend getaway,” he shared with a smile.