Bengaluru: The Mantri Mall Square in Malleswaram that reopened after being shut for 41 days, following a parapet wall collapse, did not see its expected share of crowd on the first day of its reopening on Sunday.
After the wall collapse on January 16, which injured two people, visitors were wary even though a month has passed after the incident and it happened to be a Sunday.
"Before the incident, the mall used to be so crowded on Sundays that there would be hardly any place to walk," said Vishnu, who runs a clothing store at the mall premises.
"The thin crowd may be because not many people in the city know the mall has reopened. Since it's been closed for more than a month, it kind of has escaped the public memory, I think. But mostly, it is the fear of something untoward might happen again." It is misinformation, he added, as the mall has received clearance from the BBMP. "I think the fear would subside in a month or two."
Ali Akbar, manager of Soundglitz, the music store located on the upper ground level, echoes similar emotions. "This store was always lit up and full of people. We even had karaoke before that was always packed. Today, there are barely any people coming in and it has a lot to do with fear of another collapse. I think the public needs more time than just forty days. Meanwhile, business suffers."
The staff at the respective stores in the mall, who were still on payroll during the hiatus, was shifted to other branches. "We have a number of stores across the city and the staff was transferred according to their convenience to these stores on temporary basis. They were still doing a similar job on a different location," said Harshi PA, Departmental manager at the Marks and Spencer, Mantri Mall branch.
The security details and the housekeeping staff of the mall continued their work as usual even though the mall was closed for business. "It was our usual work for us. We were deputed to look after the security of the construction and renovation work. Even the housekeeping staff came in and continued their work as usual," informed a security guard at the mall.
Though the mall has reopened, traffic volumes on Sampige Road were thin and there were no gridlocks. Fewer autorickshaws were seen parked outside the mall.
Most shops opened only after the day progressed. While the big retail brands that had other outlets in the city transported their old stock to these stores, others offered discounts up to 60 per cent to woo back customers and clear the stocks languishing in the store for 40 days.
