First Day Flop Show Corona Fears Keep Shoppers & Diners Away

Most malls & restaurants in Delhi wear a deserted look or remain closed on Day 1 as virus curve rises

- Ajay Kumar, Ram Kinkar Singh & Aishwarya Paliwal

Shivani Sharma of South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar was among the first visitors at Select CityWalk on Monday. After picking up a few bakery items from a store, she left within 15 minutes.

Before malls and restaurants were shut due to the lockdown about 75 days ago, the homemaker would spend at least an hour inside the chic shopping hotspot.

“I do not think it’s wise to stay on for long. We are fond of Modern Bazaar cookies, so I came to pick some,” the 45-year-old said.

Coronavirus fears, especially when cases are spiking, ensured a damp reopening of malls and restaurants in Delhi as most wore a deserted look. Many like the ones of DLF Group didn’t even open for want of proper sanitisation.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Sunday announced that malls, restaurants and religious places in Delhi would open from Monday, while continuing prohibitions on banquets and hotels, in accordance with the Centre’s guidelines 'Unlock-1' on relaxing many restrictions imposed during the lockdown across the country.

In Select CityWalk, which has nearly 200 shops, while some did some amount of business, footfalls suffered as food/beverage outlets and food courts remained shut. Apart from a few usual buyers, some young people visited the mall out of curiosity. Most of the regulars stayed away, though.

“Cases are increasing in Delhi. People wouldn’t want to risk their lives at this point in time,” said Ashish Singh, a resident of Indira Enclave. He would spend weekends in the mall with her two-year-old daughter before the lockdown.