Welfare standing committee chairman of the Kozhikode Corporation, P. Divakaran, has termed the concept of the Mahila Mall “inspiring” and said that it could be tried elsewhere.
“Management failure was the reason for the Mahila Mall debacle. But it is a good concept. The Corporation is checking if the model could be improvised and implemented once again,” he said while answering a query posed by Congress councillor K.C. Shobhita in the Corporation Council meeting on Friday.
The Mahila Mall, claimed to be Asia’s first mall with an all-women crew, is shutting down on Monday. The mall, managed by the Unity Group of Kozhikode Corporation Kudumbashree, was launched in November 2018 with about 75 women entrepreneurs setting up shops there.
It had caused a lot of problems for the Corporation after the entrepreneurs began complaining about mismanagement and lack of efforts on the part of the management to attract customers. A majority of the entrepreneurs moved out of the mall by the end of 2019.
The COVID-19 lockdown added to the troubles of the remaining entrepreneurs who approached the Corporation for a settlement, considering the huge amounts they had invested. After several rounds of discussions, the Unity Group decided to pull out of the project.
Ms. Shobhita said several entrepreneurs had not received any compensation for the losses they suffered. She sought the Corporation’s permission for those entrepreneurs to function out of the same building and asked the civic body to make arrangements for the same.
Mr. Divakaran said the compensation had mostly been settled. The issue of only five entrepreneurs remained, and it would be settled soon, he said.
