#MallHopping: Puja shopping frenzy tempered by stricter COVID protocols in Kolkata

With festivities round the corner, Durga Puja revellers are visiting city malls again. To keep the rush in check in the current global scenario, malls have stepped up security checks and safety protocols. On Saturday, CT took a tour of a few Kolkata malls to find out how they’ve implemented COVID rules.
K Vijayan, general manager — operations of a city mall in Kasba, is confident that the new COVID rules will ensure safety of the patrons.Preeti Sarkar, a shopper at a south Kolkata mall, was happy with the way the personnel ensured strict guidelines.

A shopping mall in Salt Lake saw decent footfall with people treading carefully amid a festive shopping ambience. Saptarshi Pal, a shopper, said, “The strict measures made me feel safe.”

Every shop entrance inside a mall on Elgin Road saw security personnel encouraging customers to follow all the COVID guidelines. Suhina Chakraborty, a shopper, said, “We were asked to maintain social distance and sanitise well.”

The entrance of a city mall in south Kolkata has a new addition. Besides metal detecters and hand sanitisers, the
shoppers’ body temperatures are now recorded by an automated device.

This mall in Kasba ensures that there are proper markings at shops and spacious waiting areas outside restaurants to
maintain social distancing.

“We have wash basins with sensor taps outside the mall entrance and UVC for mall sanitisation,” said K Vijayan, GM operations of a city mall in Kasba.

These women were seen sticking to an open-air shopping area of a mall in Salt Lake to ensure proper social distancing. “We are still not comfortable going inside a store to shop, but shopping in an open area seems safe,” said one of the buyers.

“I always keep in mind to put my mask on and keep wearing it properly throughout my mall visits,” said Preeti Sarkar, a shopper at a south Kolkata mall.

A security check that sees a shopper abiding by the strict COVID rules and extending her hand for a temperature check at a shopping mall in Salt Lake.

“Shoppers are mindful of wearing masks. We check that at no given time there are more than three people in one place inside the mall,” said Khushboo Saraf, VP, marketing, of a mall on Elgin Road.