GURUGRAMMERS WARY OF VISITING MALLS JUST YET!
After over three months, malls in Gurugram have finally reopened. But students, young professionals and other visitors aren’t too keen on venturing out just yet, given the Covid-19 crisis.
“I’m not planning to step out unless it’s very essential,” says city-based entrepreneur Neela Kaushik, adding, “If something is crucial, I prefer to go to a shop (in a mall) that has appointments or controls the number of people allowed inside at a time. In Singapore, shops have displayed on their websites the number of people inside, so that people can plan and go. I hope something like that is done here, too.”
Vanshika Rana, a student, feels the time isn’t right to visit a mall. And Manvi Singh, who studies at a college in Delhi, seconds Rana’s thought. “The lockdown is over, but the pandemic is not. The idea of leaving home is still stuck on necessities and not leisure. Plus, the air conditioning that runs centrally in a mall is what makes it much riskier, as it connects a lot of people, no matter how socially distant they may be,” she opines.
Mosaic artist Kanika Singh has taken the online route to shop. She says, “I intrinsically have a minimalist mind set. The lockdown has cleared the mind… how little we really need to stay happy.”
However, city-based photographer Aditya Arya feels the show must go on. “As life has to move on with proper precautions, one can’t be in hiding all the time. Also, some basic immunity has to be built,” he says.