COVID-19: Malls, Cinema Halls, And Retail stores May Open In Green Zones- sale of non-essential items

The government allowed the sale of non-essential items in these zones and now some internal discussions are going on to allow malls, cinema halls, and local retail stores to open at night in the green zone. It has been 45 days since the whole country is in a complete lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection, this is the third phase of the lockdown and in this phase, some exemptions have been given in the Green and Orange zones to boost up the economic conditions of the country

What is green zone, orange zone, and red zone?

• Green Zone – In the Green Zone, such districts have been kept where zero coronavirus cases have been reported till now. This means that the districts which are completely free from Coronavirus have been placed in the green zone. Out of the total 733 districts in the country, 319 districts are currently in a green zone.
• Red Zone- areas with a substantial number of coronavirus cases fall in the category of the red zone, this means the districts with the highest numbers of corona positive cases are marked as red zone. Currently, 170 districts have been identified as the red zone.   
• Orange Zone – This includes those districts, which are neither kept in Red Zone nor Green Zone. which means the areas with few corona positive cases. Currently 284 districts are under orange zone.

Making stores accessible for 18 hours will ensure less crowd:

The government has begun discussions to open the malls, cinema halls, and retail shops at night for longer hours to avoid the problem of overcrowding. Kumar Rajgopalan, CEO of Retailers Association of India said that ” It makes a lot of sense to allow the shopping malls, cinema halls, and retail shops to operate at night for longer hours as it ensures social distancing and would avoid panic buying in the stores.” 

The opening of the malls and cinema halls in green zones will boost up the business activities:

The government believes that if this plan proves to be an effective measure then, business activities will gain momentum. This can lead to shopping and other activities. However, things like physical distance and wearing masks will have to be taken care of during this time. Therefore, the government is considering allowing it to open at night because the crowd is less at night and is much easier to handle under these circumstances. According to the reports, the final decision will be taken after the Health Ministry approves such a move. The Ministry of Home Affairs can then issue an advisory.