Double dose certificate must to enter malls in twin cities

BHUBANESWAR: Malls and shopping complexes are getting ready to once again throw the doors open to the public in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from Monday. Sanitisation drive is underway inside malls which will allow regulated number of customers and only those who have been fully vaccinated. Cinema halls, however, will take some time to reopen as there are no new releases while restaurants said they will have to tread cautiously as the fear of Covid is still there.
“It is going to be the end of a brutal three-month-long lockdown which started in May. We had faced immense difficulty and severe losses as major festivals like Raja and the wedding season passed off during the lockdown. It was hardly a few months that we had opened after last year’s lockdown when the second wave struck and we had to shut down again. Malls with restricted entry and protocols in place are definitely safer places than markets where there are no scrutiny of Covid guidelines,” said Ranjit Mohanty, a shop owner in Keshari mall in Market Building.
All shopping malls will carry out thermal scan of customers at the entrance while wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and use of hand sanitisers are mandatory.
In Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, all adults entering shopping malls will have to produce final vaccination certificate at the entrance as the Covid caseload is still high in the three cities. Weekend shutdown will continue in the three cities.
“Even when roadside stalls and isolated shops were allowed to operate, those with shops in malls had to keep them closed. Shopping malls are one of the highest employment generators in cities. During the lockdown it had become difficult for shop owners to pay salaries and rent,” said Sanjay Kumar Das, manager in a city mall.
Cinema hall owners have decided to take some days to reopen as there are no new film releases in Hindi or Odia. “We don’t have any new films to reopen with. Besides, with night curfew and weekend shutdown continuing in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, we can only run two shows with 50% capacity. The rule of producing vaccination certificate is another problem. I cannot understand how we are to check the vaccination certificates,” said Lingaraj Panda, owner of Maharaja Cinema Hall.
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