Malls prepared to reopen if government permits

The managements of the malls have been ensuring that they were being sanitised even during the lockdown using a minimal staff. “When the government permits to open the malls, we won’t open it on the same day. We would at least take two to three days to take the next step to sanitise the malls again. We will also ensure that the retail stores follow a standard of procedure and sanitise their stores individually,” said Shradha, a senior official at Marina Mall in OMR.

“We will follow social distancing and ensure that only alternate washbasins are used while inside restrooms. We are also looking for ways to control the number of people entering the premises. There will be some mechanism that will be followed,” added Shradha.

After the lockdown, the malls in the city have new guidelines to be followed by the public and staff. In the coming days, malls are not going to be a place where people can hang around at any time. It is going to be treated like supermarkets, where you come in, get your things, and leave immediately.

“We are fully prepared to open the mall once the government permits. We would ensure that the customers are safe while purchasing. To make sure that the products are safe, the retailers would periodically clean their stores. We ran air conditioners twice a week during the lockdown to ensure that there is no build-up of fungus,” said Suresh Singaravelu, Executive Director, Forum Mall at Vadapalani.