After four months, city malls reopen their doors for shoppers

As a part of the unlock phase, the Maharashtra government gave a green signal for reopening the shopping malls and business complexes recently and all the three malls in Nagpur have opened doors to customers, following the guidelines of the new normal. On the first day, people were spotted indulging in some retail therapy, of course, with a lot of caution.
Strict measures, stricter implementation
From thermal scanners at the entrance to various signages and stickers educating social distancing norms, you get a sense of the new normal, the moment you step into the premises. “As soon as the guidelines were issued, we started implementing all the SOPs in our mall. We briefed our staff on the safety measures and conducted a mock drill as well. The footfall is low as there is still a lot of fear in people. It will take a few more weeks to pick up pace,” said Yogesh Kale, the centre director of the mall near Medical Square.
In the bigger stores, where there is a larger team, the employees are divided into different teams. “Each team will report to work on the rotational basis in a gap of 15 days. Even if one person is infected, the entire team will have to be quarantined for 14 days. So, the other set of employees should be ready to report to work,” added Yogesh.
No events, food or gaming zones
Rishikesh Rewatkar, the legal officer of a mall next to Gandhi Sagar Lake shared that while they would give out the space for various events on Sundays and special occasions, they won’t be doing so for quite some time now. While the shops have reopened shutters on an odd-even basis, the theatres, gaming zones, food courts and restaurants in the malls continue to remain shut. “This means only 20 per cent of our mall will be functional on any given day,” shares Ashish Barai, the manager of the mall in Variety Square, adding, “Kitchens at the restaurants are only functional for deliveries. Takeaway orders by customers are strictly prohibited.”
Aarogya Setu app is a must
While collegian Arpita Chaudhary was disappointed to see her favourite brand store closed when she visited the mall, she was happy about the
precautions the malls are taking amid the new normal. “I will call the store before visiting next time. But I had a good experience at the mall. I downloaded the Aarogya Setu app and went with proper precautions, which are compulsory to enter the premises,” she said.
I went to the mall to get the feel of the new normal. I hope slowly we all get adapted to it. At the same time, we shouldn't flout any social distancing norms either.
— Prerna Gupta, a fashion designer
I visited the mall to buy some Raksha Bandhan gifts. My daughter couldn’t give any gifts on Rakshabandhan, so we picked some t-shirts for her brothers and cousins. - Dr Tulsi Chhadi