Gujaratis put away travel kit

AHMEDABAD: Fifty-year-old Kumar Shah has been waiting for the day he would turn a grandfather. But he will not be there when his daughter delivers in a hospital in the US around December 10. For, he wants to cast his vote on December 12.
Shah isn''t the only one doing this. Many travel-crazy Gujaratis are turning conscientious citizens.
Mohsin Kadri, an advocate, was to leave for Ajmer with his family on December 5 and return on December 15.He cancelled his plans as soon as the election dates were declared.
Kadri, who hails from Shah-e-Alam area, says: "We have postponed the trip because we did not want to miss the voting. We will leave Ahmedabad after December 15."
Ajay Shah, a businessman from Ellisbridge, had planned to celebrate his first marriage anniversary on December 12 in Singapore.
But now, he and his wife are not ready to miss their "chance to make a difference". Sanjeev Chajjer of Cox and Kings, a tour operator, says, "There is a heavy increase in bookings and outward-bound traffic from Gujarat after December 20. Many are postponing their travel plans due to the elections. There is a 50 per cent increase in bookings for airlines and hotels."
"The outward and inward flow of tourists was quite controlled last year... But this year, we have been getting six to seven bookings a day, all wanting to leave Gujarat only after December 15," says Shreya Gupta of Raj Travels.