—Contributed by Vivin Wason

Disheartening, isn't it? In a country where retail is growing at an unimaginable speed and retailers from across the globe have their eyes on the retail developments in India, this is certainly not good news. With 600 malls already underway across the country, the safety and conformance to international standards of these malls is being questioned. According to a recently released book by images fashion which goes by the name Malls in India: Shopping Centre Developers & Developments, "nine most potentially dangerous areas" in Indian malls    pedestrian vs. vehicular movement both inside and outside the mall buildings, lifts, escalators, parking areas, fire safety, health and hygiene in food preparation and service areas, railings and similar fixtures around atriums and cut-outs, public restrooms, children play areas and entertainment zones.

The article also mentions about an instance where in an elevator crash-landed three floors down after moving up to the first floor from the lower basement. This was in Bangalore and main reason was later found out to excessive loading.

Another discrepancy in the Indian malls as compared to their global counterparts lies in the parking space. According to the global norms, 1.5 sq ft (square feet) of parking space for every square foot of rentable retail space. Another ratio is 5 car parking spaces (CPS) per 1,000 sq ft of retail space, which needs 1.7 sq ft of parking space for square foot of retail space. In India, there is usually only one to 1.2 CPS per 1,000 sq ft of retail space, which is a fourth or fifth of what is required. Other problem areas include pathways, lighting in the parking lots, ceiling heights et al.

So this does not leave us with a very good picture of present the retail boom. But, are there any solutions for the same? Firstly, Indian malls need to step up the safety measures and should pay attention to the minutest details such as gap between the railing and the escalator (which had also resulted in the death of a 6 year old in July last year, read article). Secondly, benchmarking Indian malls with international standards and conforming to the norms laid down by ICSC (International Council for Shopping Centers). Eventually, construction of a mall is very different from those of other commercial buildings. Having professional advisors and an active Indian Council to keep a check on the malls being constructed would certainly solve some of these issues.