Shoppers avoid Gurgaon malls

The bandh in Gurgaon had a major impact on shopping malls with footfalls in declining by over 75 per cent. In fact, a number of shops in Sahara Mall, DLF City Centre and Metropolitan Mall remained closed because of security reasons.

Traffic was minimum and the usually crowded parking lots wore a deserted look. "Footfalls have declined by 75 per cent today. Even yesterday, business was down by about 60 per cent. Security remains the prime concern and after the bandh was declared, many shops have closed and people have stayed away," said Mukesh Kumar, Manager, Raymond Shop at Sahara Mall.

Pantaloon showroom at Sahara Mall had a similar experience. The shop normally attracts over 1,000 visitors on weekdays. But by 2 pm today, the store had received only 104 visitors.

The authorities do not expect the number to go up to more than 500 by the end of the day. "Business has taken a beating and yesterday we recorded only 703 footfalls. Today is the worse," said a Pantaloon spokesperson.