Unlock 1.0: Footfalls a trickle at Hyderabad malls, temples

HYDERABAD: Malls in the city witnessed low footfall on Monday when it reopened after a hiatus of 77 days as consumers decided to avoid stepping out due to the increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the last one week.
Though most of the apparel, footwear and accessory shops were open in at malls, only a handful of shoppers visited on Monday. “We opened the shop at 11 am but the response was poor.Those who entered the shop indulged in window shopping and did not make any purchases,” said Syed Salam, manager of an apparel store in City Centre Mall in Banjara Hills. He added that it may take a few more days for customers to visit malls to shop.

At Forum Sujana Mall, the management issued e-passes for customers to visit the mall. “As we will be operating one third of our total footfall capacity, customers can visit forummalls.in website and fix a time slot for visiting the mall wherein he/she will be given an e-pass with QR code which needs to be scanned while entering the mall and while exiting the mall,” read a media brief issued by Forum Sujana Mall in Kukatpally. Most customers visited stores that were available exclusively in malls. “Ever since the lockdown was imposed, I had to get my phone repaired which was under warranty. The service centre, located in a mall, was shut for the last two months. Now that the mall reopened, I decided to get it fixed,” said Syed Saaduddin, a student who came all the way from Old City to a mall in Banjara Hills.
From thermal screening and hourly disinfection of surfaces to downloading of Aarogya Setu apps, the managements ensured public safety and hygiene. Despite government guidelines allowing dine in with physical distancing, food courts remained shut in most malls.