Bengaluru police order Phoenix Mall of Asia to stay shut for next 15 days

City Police Commissioner B Dayananda issued orders for this newly opened mall, and it will not operate from December 31 to January 15.

Bengaluru police on Saturday directed the management of Phoenix Mall of Asia to keep the establishment shut for next 15 days as it has been causing traffic chaos in north Bengaluru. City Police Commissioner B Dayananda issued orders for this newly opened mall, and it will not operate from December 31 to January 15.

Phoenix Mall of Asia in Bengaluru causes massive traffic jams on Christmas eve(X/@DrBhaskarRaj)

According to police, the inadequate amount of parking facilities at the mall is causing severe traffic jams and annoyance to the public. As New Year and long weekends are ahead, Bengaluru police anticipated jams in the Hebbal area which already faces multiple traffic snarls on a normal day.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said that he personally visited the mall and found that it has become an epicenter for traffic issues. He said, “The mall is a 12 floor building (including 2 basement floors) with a total area of 86421 square meters from the ground floor to 3rd floor. But the mall has only 2 basements to park 2324 cars and two-wheelers. As there is not enough space for parking in this mall, the vehicles of the public coming to the mall are waiting in queue at the entrance of the mall without being able to enter inside. Due to this, there is traffic congestion on the service road alongside the main road and this in turn leads to vehicular traffic getting halted for a long time on both sides of the highway's main carriageway.” Police also ordered the mall to provide parking for at least 10,000 cars and 10,000 two wheelers.

Not just the parking facilities but the mall is also creating public nuisance with high volume exhaust sound speakers, said police. The order copy also read, “The mall's exhaust blowers are causing high levels of noise pollution and several complaints have been raised by the residents against the noise levels where complaints are of inability to sleep at night and the students finding it difficult to study.”

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has also reportedly said that the noise pollution is much higher than the prescribed limits and the mall has been repeatedly warned to stop the noise pollution.

Phoenix Mall of Asia opened with much hype in October last week and it is reportedly one of the biggest malls in the country. The North Bengaluru people have been thronging into the new fancy establishment ever since it was opened and the recent long weekend led to multiple traffic jams, making people question the police and civic body for allowing it to operate.