Mumbai: Restaurants and malls reopen with tepid footfall

Businesses say people may have gone out of town over the long weekend

As they rolled up shutters for the first time in four months, malls in Mumbai and Thane welcomed a trickle of customers on Sunday. It was also Day 1 of extended hours for restaurants, but not too many patrons occupied tables till evening. Owners said business should gain pace from Tuesday once the long weekend is over.

Shopkeepers in malls blamed the 14-day cooling period after the second vaccine dose for the lacklustre response. Malls and shopping centres usually witness more footfall on weekends. Though there wasn’t strict checking of vaccination certificates, mid-day found very few customers in such business hubs. 

A waiter serves customers at Aaswad hotel at Dadar. Pic/Ashish Raje

Asif Jivani, who sells purses at Raghuleela Mall, said, “We are happy that shops are finally open. But there are hardly any customers due to restrictions over vaccination. Very few people below 45 years have taken both doses and they are our primary customers.” He added, “The rule of two doses is not applicable for standalone shops then why should only we suffer? There wasn’t much crowd when the malls were open after the first wave. So the rule can be relaxed.”

Also read: Maharashtra allows restaurants and malls to stay open till 10 pm

‘Customers not clear on vaccine rule’

Another shopkeeper said on condition of anonymity that customers are still not clear about the vaccine rule though no one restricted their entry. He said, “There are very few people entering the shops. We thought authorities would be strict about who’s entering the mall. Maybe they will deploy guards from the day after tomorrow [Tuesday].”

Borivli resident Abhishek Raut was more than happy that malls have reopened. “But when I read details that only those having completed both doses of vaccination can be allowed entry, I was a bit disappointed. There is no guarantee of not getting infected after two doses. Many have been infected after both doses too,” shared Raut adding that he only has a few days left now for his second dose.

Customers outside Indraprastha mall in Borivli on Sunday. It used to be a bustling place in pre-Covid days. Pic/Satej Shinde

Pooja Naik from Andheri called and enquired about the rules beforehand to be sure of her shopping plan. “I checked with the store that I plan to visit. Since I have completed both doses of the vaccine, I can enter the mall. Good to be sure,” said Naik, who plans to visit the Infinity Mall in Andheri.

Gurvineet Singh, CEO of Thane’s Viviana Mall, said, “The revised guidelines have restricted customers from moving in. Statistically, the maximum of our footfalls come from the 18 to 45 age group, and there are very few citizens in this age group who are fully vaccinated because of eligibility criteria of a minimum gap of 84 days and the first drive to vaccinate this segment began in June.” 

Singh added, “Our footfall is almost around 10 to 12 per cent compared to that in pre-Covid times. We will request that the government allows citizens with even one single dose as lakhs of citizens are directly or indirectly dependent on the economic activity at malls.”

A saree shop at Nakshatra mall in Dadar. Pic/Ashish Raje

Mukesh Kumar, CEO of Infiniti Mall, said, “It is certainly a slow start which was on expected lines due to the restrictions. Most of the people who frequently visit the malls are in the age group of 18-44 who could not be fully vaccinated due to the government norms. As per the notification we can only allow fully vaccinated people. However, we are glad that the government has allowed the opening of the malls after remaining closed for 130 days. We are hoping that the government will further relax the curbs and allow visitors with one dose also to visit the malls.” He said most of the stores for except cinema halls are open in malls.

Hope for happy hours

There isn’t any such rule of vaccination to enter restaurants that can now operate till 10 pm with 50 per cent capacity even on weekends. While the rule of full vaccination for staff has also been relaxed, tables were empty for most of the time. 

Patrons wait for their turn at a Goregaon restaurant. Pic/Anurag Ahire

“We are glad to see customers back again and optimistic that the number will increase in the evening. We have also got good table reservations for today late evening. Had it not been a long weekend we would have witnessed more numbers as people have preferred travelling outstation,” said Shivanand Shetty, President of hotel body AHAR, Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Navin Shetty, owner of Malhar lunch home, Dadar, told mid-day, “The decision of extended timing and allowing restaurants to open on weekends will definitely help the industry as many customers come for dinner after finishing office work. It will take some time to boost the numbers of visitors again.”

4
No. of months after which malls reopened

10 pm
Time till restaurants can now operate

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