Shopping malls in Pune reopen today

August 5, 2020 shall be recorded in history. First, for the foundation laying of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and secondly as shopping malls in Pune saw grand opening after a break of about five months.

Covid19 pandemic had brought life to a standstill since March 2020. These five months have been very tough for all, more so for the malls which remained shut, so long for the first time in the history. 
Unlocking life is the new mantra where social distancing, wearing masks, use of sanitisers has gained more importance in everybody’s day to day life and shopping malls have gone beyond this to ensure safety of all. 
Pune Pulse spoke to a few popular malls in Pune on how would they function hereafter. 
Arun Arora, Center Director, Phoenix Market City Pune said, “Premise external and internal is entirely cleaned and sprayed with approved chemicals before the opening of the mall. During the day the premise is continuously cleaned and all touch points are regularly sanitized. Customers entering have to follow social distancing norms, must be wearing mask, are checked for Aarogya Setu and quarantine stamp, have to Sanitise their footwear and hands before entering, then go through temperature check. Their bags pass through UV chamber for sterilization. Inside the mall, all through the time spent, they have to continue wearing masks, maintain social distance and opt for contact less payments. All the stores have displayed their maximum permissible limit of customers at the entrance and are following all the protocols of touch-less and contactless dealings. The lifts, washrooms, common area seating all have restrictions keeping social distancing in view. The mall team members are deployed on all floors to oversee the implementation. Real time check is being kept on the total customers in the mall at any given time through AI integrated system with CCTV. The total customers in the mall numbers are displayed at the entrances and the entry restriction will be implemented if the threshold is achieved. We have also installed UV chambers at the exit points for shoppers to sterilize their shopping bags, if they wish to.” 
An official from Elpro City Square mall in Chinchwad informed that all safety and health protocols suggested by the central government, state government and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation shall be strictly adhered to. Customers can now walk-in without any worries.
Surjit Singh Rajpurohit, COO, Amanora Mall in Hadapsar said, “We were eagerly waiting for this moment to arrive. Customers can freely shop in an environment which is safe and sanitised. We are practicing all health protocols assigned by the government agencies. Also, in a store we are ensuring that only few people are allowed so that social distancing can be implemented in a safer way. For us customers safety is of utmost importance. Also, at Amanora Mall we have the advantage of having luxury of space. Our stores are too spread out so we and even customers would love to shop. Thermal guns for checking Temperature at each entry point is mandatory. Also stores should display the number of customers accomodate at any given point.” 
Ajay Malhotra, General Manager, Seasons Mall, Magarpatta City said, “World Health Organisation, Central Government, State Government as well as PMC issued several health and hygiene standards to be maintained at malls and we are abiding by it completely. In addition to this, we have installed a UV box at the entrance which will Sanitise the customers bags before entering the premises. Also, regular sanitisation of elevators, escalators, washrooms shall happen.  In addition to this we have air purifiers which will purify the air from any sort of viruses too giving clean air to breathe. We are proud that even in the tough times our grocery store was operational and served thousands of customers following all sanitization measures.”
Malhotra further said that in the washrooms every alternate cubicle is kept open and whereas even wash basins are kept open alternatively. This will promote the six feet social distancing norms.
Jasminder Oberoi from Royale Heritage Mall in Mohamadwadi stressed that all malls must have gone through ba complete change in their working to adhere to the guidelines. We have also worked on the similar guidelines issued by the government and Mall Association of India and would confidently say that shopping malls are way safer than any high street market. We are practicing all standard operating measures to ensure safety of our customers. 

What do you need to enter a mall ? 
Wearing mask is compulsory Following social distancing within the premises of the mall 
Aarogya Setu app must be downloaded in the phones 
Strictly adhere to the mall guidelines on safety 
Thermal gun checking is mandatory 
Distance to be maintained on escalators as well as elevators