Toxic air chokes high street sales in Delhi | Tech Reddy

Amid severe air pollution in Delhi and nearby cities, people have started avoiding high streets like Khan Market and Connaught Place even as malls are busy improving indoor air quality to maintain the festive mood.

Khan Market Traders Association President Sanjeev Mehra said, “For the past three days, the crowd has reduced and the shops have also seen fewer people than last week. People are avoiding open spaces due to pollution.”

Leading mall operators say they have yet to see an impact on footfall and have installed air purifiers and frequently changed air-conditioning filters to improve indoor air.

Many restaurants and retailers are in wait-and-see mode as Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) has crossed 450, indicating very severe levels, and the same is true in neighboring cities like Noida and Gurgaon.

“We feel that the air quality in the Delhi-NCR region may worsen in the coming days, so we anticipate that footfall may decrease and delivery volumes may increase,” said Anjan Chatterjee, chairman of several operating specialty restaurants. Casual and fine-dine brands and resto bars including Mainland China, Episode One and Asia Kitchen.

In ‘wait and watch’ mode

“Therefore, we are laying the groundwork to ensure that all internal resources are in place for delivery.”

He said the company is in “wait and see” mode for now.

Yogeshwar Sharma, CEO and executive director of Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall, said it was too early to assess any impact on footfall. “We have to wait and see. Indoors, we have controlled the air quality in any case,” he said.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday announced several measures including work from home for Delhi government employees, closure of primary schools and request to private sector organizations to allow employees to work from home. The Delhi government has decided to implement the restrictions recommended by the Centre’s air quality panel in the fourth and final phase of its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which includes a ban on construction and entry of diesel vehicles in the city.

In Noida, the administration has asked schools to switch to online mode and stop outdoor activities.

However, many commercial establishments and shopping mall operators said there is still no impact. “We have not seen any impact on sales or receipts,” said Pushpa Bector, executive director of DLF Retail, which operates premium malls across Delhi-NCR. “People feel safe indoors because we have taken enough measures to improve air quality. We display it across the mall to make the crowd aware,” he said.

Rohit Aggarwal, director of Light Bite Foods, which operates the Punjab Grill, Artful Baker and Yumi restaurant chains, said, “So far we have not seen any impact of pollution on footfall and people moving out. Since air pollution is at its peak in the early morning hours, we don’t see any significant impact during our peak hours. I didn’t. If the air quality worsens, it may affect people going out.”

While people may avoid the high streets, malls seem to continue to attract crowds across North India “We have not seen any decline or negative impact on footfall or sales at any of the centers in the north,” said Prasad Rane, chief marketing officer at mall management solutions company Pioneer Property Zone Services Pvt Ltd. , the trends from Diwali to Christmas look very realistic and positive with overall consumption increasing across all segments.”

Ravinder Chowdhury, assistant vice-president of Delhi’s Dwarka Vegas Mall, also said the momentum of the festival continues. “We don’t think pollution will have any impact. We are having shows and the crowds keep coming. Even the movies are doing well,” he said.