HYDERABAD: Shopping malls, retail shops, gaming zones and food courts which were earlier abuzz with families and children, sported a deserted look as they resumed operations following a further easing of lockdown timings. Some of the malls including Inorbit Mall, Forum Sujana Mall, and Lifestyle, Begumpet were opened on Monday, while a few centres like GVK One Mall, Banjara Hills were opened on Tuesday. Most of them stayed open between 9 am and 1 pm. However, Prasads Imax remained closed due to restrictions on cinema halls.
Since shoppers mostly prefer to visit the malls during the afternoon and evening hours, the usual buzz was missing at the malls. A similar situation was faced by malls last year too during the first wave of Covid-19. Several establishments witnessed low footfalls for a few months.
To instil confidence among those coming to malls, managements have taken up daily sanitisation of touch points, temperature checks of staffers and customers, ensuring social distance and also making masks compulsory from entry to exit points.
Speaking to Express, Sharat Belavadi, Centre Head at Inorbit Mall said that all the stores in the mall are open except for the multiplex, gaming zones and restaurants serving liquor.
“There has been an impact on the footfall due to the second wave. Nevertheless, we follow the protocols strictly to make sure the consumers have a safe shopping experience,” he said.“As part of Covid-19 measures, all the stores have a sanitiser placed at the entrance. Besides, the food court has well-spaced out seating arrangements to maintain social distancing,” Sharat added.