Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that modern retail locations and shopping centres across states need to be allowed to reopen in a controlled manner as these are essential for the revival of the economy from impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Economic revival is intertwined with the revival of retail businesses, especially large formal retail spaces, which are the drivers of consumption, RAI said in a statement.
“The only way of getting rid of the economic impact of the pandemic and saving livelihoods is by everybody participating in sharing of the cost burden and acting to revive retail business activity,” it said.
Referring to Haryana, which has allowed the opening of malls with restricted time from 10 am to 6 pm and a cap on visitors of one visitor per 25 sq ft area, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI said, “This is a good move and recognition of malls as controlled spaces will be a positive step as they support the livelihood of thousands of employees. We believe that formal retail spaces like malls have the ability to operate as a controlled environment.”