Mahila Mall, which was on the verge of closure , is all set to reopen within a week, six months after it remained shut following the lockdown. The decision to reopen the mall was taken after a conciliatory meeting convened by District Collector S.Sambasiva Rao with the the Unity Group of Kudumbashree, which manages the mall, and women entrepreneurs a few days ago.
The mall will be reopened based on the suggestions of the Collector.
“We had expressed our wish to continue with the project, but the huge financial burden could not be managed. The Collector suggested that a fresh set of contracts be drawn for those who wished to continue with the project and also for entrepreneurs to clear their rent dues,” secretary of the group K. Vijaya said.
Also, arrangements have been made with Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode to assume the role of financial consultant for the project. “Measures to improve the popularity of the mall, including introduction of new facilities and entrepreneurs, will be planned in due course,” she said
The mall was launched in November, 2018, as the first mall with an all-women crew and was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. But it was hardly a smooth sail for the crew despite the glorious start. Many entrepreneurs left the venture midway. Recently, the management had served a notice on entrepreneurs to clear their rent dues and vacate as they were planning to wind up the project. This led to a series of protests and court cases in which the entrepreneurs pointed out that they wanted to continue in the mall as they had already made huge investments in their shops. Several political parties and cultural organisations had turned up in support of the entrepreneurs.
In the meeting convened at the Collectorate, Unity Group agreed to reopen the mall and operate it for one month, by which time all dues have to be cleared and new contracts will be drawn. “We will make an effort to reduce the rent from next month onwards,” Ms. Vijaya said adding that at least 15 entrepreneurs had surpassed the period of 10 months without rent, which could be adjusted from their advance payments.
On the other hand, the Collector had asked the entrepreneurs to let the District Mission Coordinator (DMC) of Kudumbashree know of their stand in the issue.
Accordingly, some of the entrepreneurs have submitted individual letters to DMC P.C. Kavitha in which some have expressed their wish to continue their association with the mall while most were indecisive.
Meanwhile, the management has started the proceedings to reopen the mall with a cleaning drive, so that the entrepreneurs could move in.
