Many people are cancelling tour bookings to support the movement
Many people are cancelling tour bookings to support the movement
The Capital is witnessing an entirely different trend. Where most Delhiites visited tourist destinations in the last three-day Independence Day weekend, this time, they would rather stay in the city to join the Anna Hazare-led protest at Ramlila Maidan. The Janmashtami holiday falls on Monday.
Jagjit Walia
While tour operators and travel agents in the Capital are disappointed, people believe the extended weekend should be devoted to the country. "I-Day has just become an occasion to rest and relax with no great feelings for the nation. That is the main reason why most people opt to go out and enjoy with the family. The country, however, needs our support now. 
Mayank Shekhar
One man is fighting for us and it is our duty to support him," said Jagjit Walia, a Sant Nagar resident, who went to Dalhousie on the I-day weekend, but will be at Ramlila Maidan for the three days. Another couple, who had done bookings at Jaipur, got it cancelled to extend their support to Anna. "We had done our bookings thinking we might not get a good deal later. But now we will rather protest at Ramlila Maidan," said 59-years-old C S Rai, working with a public sector undertaking.
Many people have come to Delhi from other parts of the country. Mayank Shekhar, who is into hospitality sector and planning, came all the way from Ahmedabad. He said, "It gets really difficult for us to get long weekends due to the nature of our business. But it so happened that there weren't enough bookings to handle this weekend. Taking the opportunity to serve my country, I have decided a two-day trip to the Capital. I will sit with Anna along with my wife."
Like last week, the tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan were expecting a huge rush of tourists. Industry representatives said the information centres and hotels were, however, getting very few enquiries. "There are very few bookings. Some of the bookings were cancelled at the 11th hour," said Kiran Sharma, deputy general manager of Aman Travels based in Connaught Place.
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