Civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Monday issued a circular about giving permission to market complexes and shopping malls in the city to remain open between 9am and 7pm from Wednesday.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also throw away the odd-even rule. Which meant for shops selling non-essential, and permitted them to remain open on all days. They earlier only permitted home delivery of liquor, allowed its over-the-counter sale from Wednesday.
“It is directed that the liquor shops are allowed to remain open for sale across the counter but shall strictly adhere to national directives of Covid-19 for safe distancing and covering of masks mentioned. It is further directed that all shops shall remain open on all days on all sides of the road irrespective of the even and odd days rule,” the circular stated.
Meanwhile, gyms in the city will remain closed.
However, the civic body also said citizens cannot travel far to buy non-essential items or in the case of non-emergencies.
“Malls and market complexes will be operational from 9am to 7pm with effect from 5th August, 2020, without theatres, food courts / restaurants. However, the kitchen of restaurant and food courts will be allowed to operate in malls, wherein only home delivery through aggregators will be allowed,” the circular stated.
This circular also gives permission to e-commerce companies to deliver all types of goods and private offices to function with 10% attendance. Self-employed people such as plumbers, electricians, pest-control companies and technicians can work commence their work.
The civic body permitted venues for non-team sports such as golf courses, firing ranges, gymnastics, tennis and badminton courts to operate from Wednesday. However, owners and visitors mustbe sure that sanitation measures and social distancing norms are maintained.
“It was not practical for us to follow the alternate-day rule as we need to pay wages to our workers and rent to landlords. We have been requesting the authorities to permit shops to operate on all days from the past 20 days. We would like to thank the civic body and the Maharashtra government for allowing it now. More than 3 lakh shop owners in Mumbai can now heave a sigh of relief as they can remain open on all days. We have asked all the shops to ensure social distancing and follow sanitisation and other precautionary measures in shops,” said Viren Shah, president of Federation of Retail Traders’ Welfare Association (FRTWA).
