Malls reopen after long hiatus, lean biz on Day 1
LUCKNOW:Most of the malls in Lucknow reopened on Monday sans their multiplexes and entertainment zones in the first phase of ‘Unlock 1’ to relax lockdown restrictions across the country.
During the day, limited customers visited the malls, where arrangements for thermal scanning and sanitization were in place.
Despite orders allowing them to resume operations after over two months of lockdown, only a few malls allowed entry to the public while the rest utilised the day in imparting training to the staff on safety guidelines in wake of Covid pandemic.
Shopping malls in containment and buffer zones remained closed.
The state capital has more than 10 malls, of which three remained closed for the public. One of the malls that allowed entry for the public was ‘Fun Republic’ in Gomti Nagar.
Officials, however, said that the footfall was far less than the pre-lockdown days.
“I am here with friends to get the feeling of being alive. It’s been more than 75 days since we last visited any mall. We are making small purchases,” said Vaibhav Nigam, a college-goer, who visited the mall.
Saumya Shukla, another visitor to the mall, said the entire lockdown phase had also been a learning experience.
“We have learnt to maintain better hygiene and cleanliness. In the mall, I came across sanitiser bottles, placed at every 10 steps and various other measures to ensure safety of customers. But I think things will take time to get back to normal,” she said.
“As we are re-opening after more than 75 days, we are busy with re-stocking things and making arrangements at the malls. On the first day after opening, we witnessed footfall of around 2,000 people, which is far less than that on any normal day. However, we expect the footfall to increase by the weekend,” said Vikas
Katoch, general manager, Fun Republic.
He said malls had made elaborate arrangements to maintain social distancing and were sanitising the premises round the clock.
Cinepolis too was open for the public, but there weren’t too many visitors. “People are missing as a majority of them still prefer to stay indoors. We hope things will get back to normal in a day or two,” said BB Singh, senior maintenance manager, Cinepolis (One Awadh Mall), Gomti Nagar.
Singh said only 15% of the shops had resumed operations. “Around 40 customers visited the shops. We have arranged for thermal screening, made masks mandatory, and also formed a team to ensure social distancing. The mall will be sanitised every two hours,” he said.
Similarly, other malls also witnessed less footfall. However, a few remained closed for public. Officials at one such mall said the management preferred to train staff on the new norms in place following Covid 19 pandemic.
Abhishek Prakash, district magistrate, said: “Along with temples, shopping malls too were allowed to open on Monday. But malls in containment and buffer zones are still closed till further orders.”
He said the administration issued a detailed advisory to the malls to maintain social distancing and ensure safety of people.
SHOPKEEPERS SEEK RENT WAIVER
Quite a few shops remained closed in malls in support of their demands, claimed the Adarsh Vyapar Mandal.
Sanjay Gupta, president of the association, said shopkeepers wanted mall owners to waive off the rent and common area maintenance fee for the lockdown period.
“They have decided that they will not reopen shops until their problem is resolved,” he said.
Gupta said he will meet district authorities with the delegation of shopkeepers for a solution to their problems.