Noida: Month later, malls as empty as first week of reopening

Noida: Even though a month has passed since they were allowed to reopen, the shopping malls of Noida bear a deserted look. As a result, shopkeepers say they are

Noida: Even though a month has passed since they were allowed to reopen, the shopping malls of Noida bear a deserted look. As a result, shopkeepers say they are facing heavy losses and hope for some rebate in the rents to sustain.

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While some malls such as DLF Mall of India at Sector 18, one of the largest in the city, is yet to open, several shops are still closed in those which are open food courts in some are non-functional. Officials of many malls say that while footfall is slightly better since the first week of reopening, people are still largely keeping away due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Managers said even on weekends, when malls used to be packed with shoppers in pre-Covid days, the footfall now is barely a sliver.

“There is hardly any business, despite it being a weekend. Earlier, our stall used to make a minimum sale of Rs 40,000 on weekends while on weekdays it used to be between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. Compared to that, at Rs 1,400 so far, my sale today has been abysmal. Only a few dedicated customers are coming and they don’t even try the products. People are scared,” Ritu, who manages a cosmetic stall at the Great India Place Mall at Sector 18, said Saturday.

A bookstore owner at the same mall said that re-opening the shop felt like starting from scratch, with hardly any sale.

“The sale is less than 80% of what it used to be. It almost feels like we will have to start from scratch. The shop owners have decided to form an association to request the mall management to give us some rebate in rent,” said Peeyush, a bookstore owner at Mall of India.

Commercial establishments such as malls, hotels and restaurants in the city were allowed to reopen from June 8.

“The footfall has increased and almost 70% of our shops are now open and sales have also increased but this is of course nothing compared to pre-Covid times. Like earlier, if we had about 45,000 to 50,000 visitors during the weekend, the maximum footfall after re-opening is around 4,500,” said a mall manager at Gaur City mall, Greater Noida west, asking not to be identified.

While the number of visitors is less, an HT visit revealed that malls were taking necessary measures as directed by the state government, including sanitisation, no-mask no-entry system and thermal screening before entering, among others.

Managers say that while they have made all the necessary arrangements in place to make the dining experience at the food-court safe, only a few outlets have opened up.

“The footfall has increased a little but the numbers are still a long shot from their pre-Covid average. I guess it will still take a few more months to get there. There are few outlets in the food court which have opened now. There is also an issue with the timing, as we have to start closing the mall by 7.30pm to meet the curfew timings, which is the peak hour for mall visitors,” said Angad Makan, head, Logix city centre mall.

Since the visitor’s influx was low, social distancing was not an issue, many managers added.