In Delhi, markets, malls in sync as precautions take centre stage
NEW DELHI: As Delhi prepares for its second phase of reopening after seven weeks in lockdown, market welfare associations in the city said they are trying to vaccinate as many shop owners and employees as possible. While shopping malls will be investing on managing footfall in real-time, officials of district administrations said they will ensure stricter enforcement of distancing and mask norms.
On Monday, around 250 enforcement teams of the Delhi revenue department will be deployed in markets and public spaces that are likely to see large crowds, said a senior government official.
“Liquor stores will be under watch. They are likely to witness huge crowds for the next few days. If things go out of control, officers in sub-divisions have been directed to close the shops immediately for the day,” said the government official. Dharmendra Kumar, west Delhi’s additional district magistrate, said, “Enforcement will be scaled up. We have to ensure social distancing and high mask compliance at any cost. We cannot let Covid-19 cases go up again.”
Pushpa Bector, executive director, DLF Shopping Malls and director of Shopping Centres Association of India, said the mall industry has been readied to reopen for some time.
“Apart from the guidelines recommended by local authorities, we have got stringent measures now like live footfall trackers, apart from getting all mall employees vaccinated. It is important that we give an environment of safety to consumers and build staff confidence during these testing times. We hope that business will soon come back to normal,” said Bector.
Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director and CEO, Select Citywalk, said the reopening has been mapped out, with extensive standard operating procedures in place, including temperature checks at entry points, sanitization across all public areas and retail outlets, and airconditioning practices in accordance with government guidelines.
“We will also work in tandem with our occupants to ensure best practices [are in place] for the safety of our visitors,” said Sharma.
Atul Bhargava, owner of a store at Connaught Place and president of New Delhi Traders’ Association, said the body conducted a vaccination drive on Saturday for their staff and family members ahead of Monday’s reopening. “Our members paid for the vaccination of their staff,” said Bhargava.
The Khan Market traders body also said the association is in touch with a private hospital to vaccinate staff.
Sanjeev Mehra, president of Khan Market Traders’ association, said, “It will take another two or three days for us to streamline the vaccination process. We have taken care of other precautionary measures,” said Mehra. He said that crowding might not be a problem initially since people were unlikely to throng the markets in the first few days.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that restrictions, including those on markets and transport, were being eased starting Monday, after a seven-week lockdown necessitated by a devastating fourth wave of Covid-19.