Holiday to vote but Puneites take off to shop and relax
Indian Express: The V-day holiday certainly came as a much-awaited off for shopaholics and for those desperately wanting to get away from the city.
While many chose to cast their votes and rush to Laxmi Road for Diwali shopping, getaway spots like Mahabaleshwar, Matheran and Sinhagad witnessed a remarkable rise in the number of visitors since Tuesday morning.
“We cast our votes at Yashwantrao School in Kothrud and decided to come out for Diwali shopping which I was eagerly waiting for,” said Amit Gosavi, a software professional.
Like Gosavi, Vinayak Prabhu, a resident of Sinhagad Road registered his vote in Parvati constituency and rushed to Laxmi Road. “I voted early morning and went shopping for Diwali. Though many shops were closed in the morning, they opened during the later half,” said Prabhu.
Shops that remained closed during the first half of the day, made up for their losses in the evening rush.
“We were against the election-day shutdown as Diwali season is the most lucrative season for shopowners. However, after opening the shop at 3 pm, I found the rush was much more than on a normal week day. In fact, each of my sales person has been attending two customers at a time since afternoon,” said Subhash Jain, partner, Men’s Avenue.
Though Ranka Jewellers opened their shop at 4.30 pm, they made up for it delay. “Most of our customers were aware that we were closed during the first half of the day. So, they came in the evening,” said Shailesh Ranka, director, Ranka Jewellers.
A remarkable chunk of citizens used the day off as an extended weekend. Said Shrirang Gokhale, a resident of Kothrud, “Being a college professor, getting free time during the week is difficult for me. With Saturday and Sunday being my weekly offs, I opted to apply for a leave on Monday and went to Matheran for a four-day picnic. We had plans to come back to Pune on the voting day but could not make it.”
“Diwali season is the most lucrative season for us, but the election holiday came as an added advantage as parents extended their weekends and combined it with their children’s ongoing Diwali vacations,” said Vijay Chavan, general manager, MTDC.
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