COVID-19 lockdown: Delhi malls gear up to reopen, assure all social distancing rules in place

NEW DELHI: The city’s malls are all geared up to re-open on June 8, with appropriate precautions chalked out to provide safety of employees and customers along with the best shopping experience.

“We have been preparing over the past two months. Our malls will follow all social distancing guidelines, right from temperature checks at the entrance, three-step rollovers at escalators, permanent distance markers in the elevator, repeated sanitisation of commonplaces, including washrooms and more,” Pushpa Bector, Executive Director, DLF Shopping Malls said, welcoming the Centre’s nod to re-open all activities outside containment zones in a phased manner from June 1.

DLF is also embracing technology to keep track of real-time foot traffic. “Real-time notifications on safety and cleanliness, booking of time slots, golden hours to visit our malls, will be made available to customers very soon on DLF Malls ‘Lukout’ APP,” says Bector. Food outlets in DLF will have to maintain a distance of six feet between tables, accept pre-orders and focus on takeaways. “Contactless shopping and serving experiences will become the new normal.”

The Pacific Group is also bringing Contactless Food Ordering and payments app at all their food courts, said Executive Director, Abhishek Bansal.Manoj Gaur, MD Gaurs Group, believes that it is up to the public to make sure no one, including the economy, suffers. “The latest guidelines for lockdown 5.0 are in line with Prime Minister Modi’s belief in ‘Jaan Bhi Jahan Bhi’,” he asserted.