Mumbai: Restaurants and malls reopen with tepid footfall

As they rolled up shutters for the first time in four months malls in Mumbai and Thane welcomed a trickle of customers on Sunday It was also Day 1 of extended hours for restaurants but not too many patrons occupied tables till evening Owners said business should gain pace from Tuesday once the long weekend is overShopkeepers in malls blamed the 14day cooling period after the second vaccine dose for the lacklustre response Malls and shopping centres usually witness more footfall on weekends Though there wasnrsquot strict checking of vaccination certificates midday found very few customers in such business hubsA waiter serves customers at Aaswad hotel at Dadar PicAshish RajeAsif Jivani who sells purses at Raghuleela Mall said ldquoWe are happy that shops are finally open But there are hardly any customers due to restrictions over vaccination Very few people below 45 years have taken both doses and they are our primary customersrdquo He added ldquoThe rule of two doses is not applicable for standalone shops then why should only we suffer There wasnrsquot much crowd when the malls were open after the first wave So the rule can be relaxedrdquoAlso read Maharashtra allows restaurants and malls to stay open till 10 pmlsquoCustomers not clear on vaccine rulersquoAnother shopkeeper said on condition of anonymity that customers are still not clear about the vaccine rule though no one restricted their entry He said ldquoThere are very few people entering the shops We thought authorities would be strict about whorsquos entering the mall Maybe they will deploy guards from the day after tomorrow TuesdayrdquoBorivli resident Abhishek Raut was more than happy that malls have reopened ldquoBut when I read details that only those having completed both doses of vaccination can be allowed entry I was a bit disappointed There is no guarantee of not getting infected after two doses Many have been infected after both doses toordquo shared Raut adding that he only has a few days left now for his second doseCustomers outside Indraprastha mall in Borivli on Sunday It used to be a bustling place in preCovid days PicSatej ShindePooja Naik from Andheri called and enquired about the rules beforehand to be sure of her shopping plan ldquoI checked with the store that I plan to visit Since I have completed both doses of the vaccine I can enter the mall Good to be surerdquo said Naik who plans to visit the Infinity Mall in AndheriGurvineet Singh CEO of Thanersquos Viviana Mall said ldquoThe revised guidelines have restricted customers from moving in Statistically the maximum of our footfalls come from the 18 to 45 age group and there are very few citizens in this age group who are fully vaccinated because of eligibility criteria of a minimum gap of 84 days and the first drive to vaccinate this segment began in JunerdquoSingh added ldquoOur footfall is almost around 10 to 12 per cent compared to that in preCovid times We will request that the government allows citizens with even one single dose as lakhs of citizens are directly or indirectly dependent on the economic activity at mallsrdquoA saree shop at Nakshatra mall in Dadar PicAshish RajeMukesh Kumar CEO of Infiniti Mall said ldquoIt is certainly a slow start which was on expected lines due to the restrictions Most of the people who frequently visit the malls are in the age group of 1844 who could not be fully vaccinated due to the government norms As per the notification we can only allow fully vaccinated people However we are glad that the government has allowed the opening of the malls after remaining closed for 130 days We are hoping that the government will further relax the curbs and allow visitors with one dose also to visit the mallsrdquo He said most of the stores for except cinema halls are open in mallsHope for happy hoursThere isnrsquot any such rule of vaccination to enter restaurants that can now operate till 10 pm with 50 per cent capacity even on weekends While the rule of full vaccination for staff has also been relaxed tables were empty for most of the timePatrons wait for their turn at a Goregaon restaurant PicAnurag AhireldquoWe are glad to see customers back again and optimistic that the number will increase in the evening We have also got good table reservations for today late evening Had it not been a long weekend we would have witnessed more numbers as people have preferred travelling outstationrdquo said Shivanand Shetty President of hotel body AHAR Hotel and Restaurant AssociationNavin Shetty owner of Malhar lunch home Dadar told midday ldquoThe decision of extended timing and allowing restaurants to open on weekends will definitely help the industry as many customers come for dinner after finishing office work It will take some time to boost the numbers of visitors againrdquo4No of months after which malls reopened10 pmTime till restaurants can now operate