Mulling over the malls

Mulling over the malls
K S Someshwara
Whether we are ready or not, the mall culture has already occupied a place in our cities.

In Bangalore, the Alankar Plaza on Kempegowda Road, keeping its earlier name Alankar theatre, may well be called the origin of mall culture here. Of course, this is no match to the modem shopping malls or hyper markets, meant for high society with big brand shops, high profile coffee bars and so on. Alankar Plaza is well-suited to the middle class shopper.

Shopper’s Stop and Big Bazaar came as a prelude to the present day malls. Nilgiris, Spencers and Food World that has been there for a long time has attracted people with their variety of stocks. The current malls have something more to offer to the public by way of entertainment like coffee bars, multi-cuisine eateries and the multiplexes which house five to six cinema halls or more. These draw in a lot of crowd especially the youth. Come weekends, and it sure is a herculean task to move around these malls with people pouring in to spend their leisure time with family.

These shopping malls are more in news recently for other reasons. Two tragic incidents in a City mall leaves many questions unanswered. It is, at times, the attitude of the public in these places that is the cause for incidents. Many parents, who bring their children to malls, are unconcerned about the necessity of their presence especially when their children are near elevators or escalators. Also, there is no discipline while using the lifts.

This does not mean that these malls are safe places and that those who are managing them are absolved of their responsibilities. They only end up opening their eyes when an accident occurs. Providing proper maintenance, properly trained staff to guide people are the inevitable responsibilities of the managers at these malls.

When such accidents occur, the building managers along with the government authorities who permitted the business, are to be held responsible.

Generally malls finds its existence in crowded places in the City. Perhaps in our country there is no specific law to place them in order. Take for instance the Garuda Mall. This was originally planned to provide multi-level car parking which later altered for a commercial complex.

Now, it’s hard to find parking space inside the building. Moreover, there are at least two to three large commercial buildings of similar nature in the vicinity thereby making the entire area prone to traffic congestions.
There is a flyover and a grade separator near Dairy Circle on Hosur Road to decongest traffic at this place. Now, the congestion starts from the foot of the flyover which goes upto the next circle. The prime reason for the same is the existence of two big complexes — Forum and Big Bazaar — on this stretch. The vehicles coming to these complexes queue up on the road to enter these buildings which totally prohibits smooth plying of other vehicles on this road.

There is always a discussion that such malls and super markets hamper the business of traditional market in the City.

If one observes, shopping at these malls seem suited for a population that is cash rich only. For a cup of coffee, apart from waiting for longer than required, it costs five to six times more than what it it’s normally priced at. Earlier, during weekends, people used to go to Cubbon Park and Lalbagh with their families where popular cine songs were performed by troupes. And all one needed was a packet of fried groundnut.

The growth of cities makes inevitability of such malls and hypermarkets. However trendy or sophisticated they are, the business at these places lacks the personal touch which one can see in local markets.

There should be a well-defined regulation to establish these malls and other large commercial establishments. A clear-cut regulation specifically identifying residential and commercial complexes will pave the way for a better growth of the City.