Use mall space for faster vaccination, owners tell Government

A leading association of shopping mall operators has written to state governments to utilise mall infrastructure across the country to organise vaccination camps to help accelerate the vaccination drive that has opened for 18-plus citizens from May 1.

With their social infrastructure, safe parking facilities, and training rooms, malls can provide ample room for large vaccine camps, Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) – which represents more than 1,650 malls including at least 650 malls of more than 100,000 sq ft across the country – said in a letter to state governments.

“This will help accelerate the vaccination efforts that will eventually benefit the cause of ‘break the chain’ (of coronavirus infection),” it said.


The association has urged malls and shopping centres across the country to provide space in their respective premises to bolster the vaccination drive.

A devastating second wave of Covid-19 has impacted malls and shopping centres severely with several states imposing curfews and lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.

The mall association said the industry’s revenue dropped by almost half due to local restrictions in April. Malls and shopping centres had revived large parts of their business by mid-March with reopening across states when Covid-19 infections had come down significantly across most of the country.

“On average, during pre-Covid, the industry was clocking Rs 15,000 crore per month and had reached the same during mid of March-2021, but with local restrictions, almost 50% revenues have got slashed again,” a SCAI spokesperson said.

“Local restrictions, closure of malls in some states and weekend curfews have impacted business, recovery, and employment associated with organised retail.