Summary:
Mall retailers said they feared the relocation of the massage parlours to Gurugram malls will have a negative impact on their businesses already reeling under dwindling sales amid the second wave of the pandemic.
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On Thursday, MG Road mall shop owners staged a protest against what they claimed was the possibility of large-scale shifting of spas and massage parlours from Delhi to Gurugram.
Mall retailers said they feared the relocation of the massage parlours to Gurugram malls will have a negative impact on their businesses already reeling under dwindling sales amid the second wave of the pandemic.
The Delhi government has recently come up with strict guidelines for massage parlours, restricting cross-gender massages and mandating certified staff and CCTV cameras to check sex trade and human trafficking.
Due to these strict guidelines, Gurugram has been witnessing a surge in space enquiries by massage parlours and spas, according to shop owners and mall officials.
More than 100 shop owners protested inside MGF Metropolis Mall holding placards in their hands.
Some residents of housing societies on the Mall Mile also joined the protest.
They protesters alleged that such spas create nuisance and families are unable to visit the malls on MG Road in late evening.
There are already 11 spas operating out of MGF Metropolis Mall and another one is coming up.
Akash Oberoi, a retailer in MGF Metropolis Mall, said, “This mall has around 300 shops, of which around 50 are vacant at present.
But for every vacant shop, 4-5 people are ready to open a spa, they want to relocate from Delhi and are ready to pay high rentals.
The mall already has 11 spas.