BMC plans to keep 31 malls open all night

Mumbai: If the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has its way, Mumbaikars could  access major malls and shopping centres in the city and the suburbs 24x7.

In a bid to promote nightlife in the city, the civic body has decided to keep malls and four major public places open during the night.

The BMC has also sought the opinion of the police on the law and order aspect of this proposal to keep certain malls and shopping complexes open.

The civic body has identified 31 major malls and four important roads — Churchgate railway station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station, Domestic and International Airport and Gateway of India — that will be allowed to stay open 24x7.

Among the 31 malls are CR2 (Nariman Point), Bayside (Haji Ali), Orchid City Centre (Mumbai Central), Crossroads (Haji Ali), SoBo Centre (Tardeo), Crystal Shopping (Kalbadevi), Reliance (Mumbai Central).

For this, civic chief Ajoy Mehta has written a letter to the police commissioner seeking his opinion on the possible law and order situation over the proposal. The letter says that malls and shopping centres could be kept open 24x7 according to section 11 of Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Service Condition) Act, 2017.

Malls are gated commercial communities, which can be allowed to remain open throughout the night as well. We plan to include more commercial establishments in our plans. For this, we are awaiting opinion from the police," said deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Choudhari.

“It's a good move to keep malls and shopping centres open 24x7. But the security aspect, especially of women, also needs to be considered highly while giving approval. The BMC also needs to ensure that residents are not disturbed due to mall activities during the night," said Lalbaug resident Rudresh Satpute.

The malls identified by the BMC are- CR2 (Nariman Point), Bayside (Haji Ali), Orchid City Centre (Mumbai Central), Crossroads (Haji Ali), SoBo Centre (Tardeo), Crystal Shopping (Kalbadevi), Reliance (Mumbai Central), Sim Lim Square (Lamington Road), Phoenix (Lower Parel), Atria (Worli), Star, Nakshatra (Dadar), Globus (Bandra), City, Infinity (Andheri), Prime (Juhu), Oberoi (Goregaon), Infinity (Malad), Grovel, Raghuleela (Kandivali), Moksh (Borivali), Phoenix, Market City (Kurla), K Star (Chembur), R City, Platinum, S Mall, Neelyog (Ghatkopar), Dreamz (Bhandup), Nirmal Lifestyle, R City (Mulund).