Close to 250 shops lining the outer ring of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor may have to remain shut for nearly one-and-a-half months from September 15 as a security measure as the city is hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the stadium, has let out 236 out of the 280 shop rooms around the stadium for running eateries, offices, and godowns.
“FIFA has requested us to shut down the shop rooms from September 15 till the end of the tournament in October. If they want to advance it to September 1, we are duty-bound to comply with them. Once the date is confirmed, notices will be issued to the shop owners,” said GCDA Chairman C.N. Mohanan.
It is learnt that instead of merely keeping the shutters down, the shop owners will have to vacate the rooms.
From the very outset, FIFA had made it clear that the closure of shops well in advance of the tournament was a non-negotiable security pre-condition.
The matter has already been taken up with the shop owners, though they are awaiting confirmation on it. Also, they are resigned to the inevitability that they will have to forego business for over a month.
In fact, the shops had to be closed down when a FIFA team turned up for an inspection of the stadium on Thursday, and they were allowed to reopen only after 6 p.m.
“It will be a big setback inflicting loss. Though we will have to keep our shops closed, we still have to pay our staff as we cannot lay them off,” said Sabu, who runs a bakery at the stadium.
Asked whether the shop owners have collectively decided to comply with the GCDA directive, he said there was no alternative but to fall in line when the city hosts a major global event. In fact, temporary closure is nothing new to shops as they have been closed down one day before and on the day of the match whenever the stadium hosted One Day International cricket matches.
Concessions
The shop owners are now pinning their hopes on the GCDA to waive the rent for the period when the shops remain shut. On such a possibility, Mr. Mohanan said those were small concessions when a global event was organised.
