NASHIK: The state government's decision to relax the Covid curbs in Nashik, where the pandemic situation is relatively stable, allowed the shops in the city to operate till 8 pm for the first time in over four months on Tuesday.
The mood in the city markets was upbeat on day one. Customer footfall was scattered, but encouraging, till the closing hours in the evening.
Prafulla Sancheti, the president of Nashik Grain and Grocery Wholesalers' Association, said that earlier, they witnessed a rush of customers around 4pm due to the Covid restrictions. People used to make purchases in a hurried manner, he said. "It was different on Tuesday thanks to the 8pm time extension. There was no crowding as the customers were not in a rush. They could their time to shop. With the extended time, the rush was divided and reduced," he said.
Even the malls reopened on Tuesday. Nashik city's largest mall - City Centre - had a steady stream of customers till the evening.
A visit to the mall in the Untawadi area revealed that all 108 shops had reopened and were receiving customers. The City Centre mall authorities said the footfall had increased in the evening.
"Most of the people are yet to know about the malls reopening. The footfall will increase further as more people come to know. We are following all the Covid-safety measures as per government guidelines," they said.
"I was had not been able to make purchases over the past many days due to my office timings and Covid restrictions. But I can go to the mall with my wife in the evening after office hours now," said Ashish Sharma, an employee at a private firm.
In June, the malls had restarted, but only for five days. The government had again issued restrictions denying the malls permission to operate then.
