Bhubaneswar, Dec. 5: Winter is considered the ideal time for organising picnics, but because of the cash crisis, many people are giving the seasonal affair a miss.

"I have many friends, and we use to organise picnics quite frequently. But these days, no one wants to spend on picnics," said young entrepreneur Dharmendra Pradhan.

Consequently, the cash crunch has affected the revenue of Jaydev Vatika, one of the most popular picnic spots in the city.

A vatika official said many pindisor platforms that had earlier been booked got cancelled after the demonetisation announcement.

"Around 15 bookings have been cancelled. Many people want to reschedule their bookings for January and February," the official said. He also said large groups were not organising picnics for the past few weeks.

"Earlier each picnic group had at least 20 members, but now only family gatherings can be spotted," he said.

Sini Behera, a student of RD Women's University, had planned a picnic with her classmates, but she had to cancel it as she did not have sufficient cash.

"Most of my friends live in hostels. At present, they are battling to pay their fees. Each of us had to pay around Rs 500 for the picnic. Moreover, one has to pay for gas cylinder, plates and utensils for which plastic money can't be used. So, we decided to cancel the picnic," Sini said.

"My colleagues and I had planned to go to Satpada, and we didn't want to cancel it. Arranging food at the spot would have been difficult in the present situation, so all of us carried home-cooked food. We, therefore, had to pay just for the transport," said Sweety Samantray, an IT professional.

Partha Samal, who organises picnics for companies and universities, said he had received very few bookings this season.

"Every year during this time, bookings remain full till the month of February. But this year, there is no enthusiasm in the people. I have only 10 bookings that is too for the next year," he said.

The picnic spot in the state botanical garden at Nandanakanan was recently revamped with many new facilities for the visitors.

Eight cottages were erected with kitchen facilities, dining area and water supply. Besides, 35 new platforms were developed to complement the existing 31.

A Nandankanan official said very few people were arranging picnics. He said the numbers of picnickers might increase around the New Year.

Some of the busiest picnic spots in and around the city - Nandankana botanical gardens, Chilika, Satpada and Sikharchandi - had few visitors on the weekends.