Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Retailers Association of India (RAI) expressed that the longer closures of malls in Maharashtra due to Covid-19 have severe impacted around 2 lakh jobs.
According to the reports the RAI have asked the state government to allow them to operate with necessary safeguards. In an official statement thr RAI stated that the closure has put the entire ecosystem that depends on the malls in serious jeopardy and is not only hurting businesses but also livelihoods of people working there.
Further it stated that the prolonged closures have impacted the estimated 50 malls in Maharashtra that employ more than 2 lakh people, generate a business of (around) Rs 40,000 crore and contribute Rs 4,000 crore in GST, per month.
“It has also afflicted all the businesses associated with malls — on an average, a mall has 200 retail stores operating in it and over 5,000 business entities associated with it as suppliers and vendors. Restarting malls will help ensure the survival of this ecosystem,” the statement said.
