Representatives of the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) met with Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, on Tuesday, seeking directions for immediate opening of shopping centres and malls in the State.

The association emphasised on the safety of the malls in the prevailing environment and assured the CM of its ability to ensure crowd control and provide a hygienic environment whilst maintaining social distancing norms.

The SCAI has also submitted a set of SOPs it developed in preparedness of opening shopping centres to the Chief Minister at the meeting.

Amitabh Taneja, Chairman, SCAI, said: “Its been two months since the lockdown was announced; the industry suffered huge losses. If the present situation continues, the collapse of the industry is inevitable. We have been covering all overheads and fixed costs until now but there will come a time when the coffers will dry up as revenues have come to a complete standstill. Job losses will be imminent and an impact on the retail will have a much larger spiralling effect on several other industries that are totally dependent on the retail segment.”

He added, “The SOPs we have developed are quite stringent, taken from the best of the world. We are confident of ensuring safety at shopping centres. At this stage, our request is to treat shopping centres at par with other establishments that have been allowed to open, provide us with a level playing field and, allow us to resume operations.”

SOme of the highlights presented to the CM include category-wise opening in various phases in accordance with government directives, distance markers installations at the entry points/cash counters, restricted mall timings and customer entry and only one customer per 75 sqft GLA.

Only 50 per cent of total parking capacity to be used. Also, restricted washroom and usage policy, controlled entry and exit, social distancing and queuing of customers inside stores/food court 50 per cent staff strength in Phase 1.