E-Paper
Unseasonal rain puts Punekar vacation plans in the wet
With the formation of tropical cyclone Kyarr over the east-central Arabian sea putting a warning regarding the severe cyclonic storm over coastal areas, the general public was asked to literally “rain check’’ their plans
Diwali - the short-break, vacation season. This year, however, with the formation of tropical cyclone Kyarr over the east-central Arabian sea putting an immediate warning regarding the severe cyclonic storm over coastal areas, the general public was asked to literally “rain check’’ their plans.
Saba Poonawalla, who had planned an all girls trip had to cancel. “We had planned a girls trip to Lonavala but we had to cancel since it began raining heavily. We didn’t want to waste the holiday period, therefore we thought going someplace close but our plans to visit Panshet were also shelved off by the forecast of rains, thunder and lightning.”
Similarly, for biker Hrishikesh Puranik, who had started on a road trip just before Diwali, to Coorg and Bandipur had to take a detour back home as soon as the skies darkened with the fear of torrential rain.
According to Akhilesh Joshi of Girikand holidays and Zelam Chaubal of Kesari Tours, “Business was affected a little by the unseasonal rain. A few trips were postponed while others went ahead with their planned itinerary. The only trouble we are facing is getting hotels to understand the issue with flights getting cancelled due to sudden bad weather.”
Cyclone Kyarr and the frequenting rain put a dent in the travel and tourism business for Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) as it lost two per cent in business. We got calls after the warnings of cyclone were announced and people began cancelling bookings in places like Tarkali, Sindhudurg, but in other areas, there were those who were waiting to experience rains too,” said Deepak Harne, regional manager, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.
Vithal Kamat of Kamat Hotels, in fact had a full booking at both his hotels Jadhavgadh and Lotus Murud, with many opting for beach holidays in the rains.
According to Sunil Gole from Bhagrashree travels, “Most of the people who had their bookings done earlier for Diwali vacations went ahead with their plans. There were no cancellations and those who were planning on booking vacations for December, simply postponed their bookings fearing rains.”
