Mumbai has a plethora of shopping malls. Perhaps not at every nook and corner but maybe at every junction or so, there is either a mall or a multiplex having already sprung up or coming up.

Worli, Malad and Mulund are the suburbs which are flooded with new malls. The R Mall at Mulund is one such big mall, then there is Nirmal Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Big Bazaar and so on. Shopper's Stop runs a chain of malls in the city at various suburbs. In Vashi, just outside the railway station is the huge shopping mall Centre Point, which is often seen in many television soaps.

The 7/11 train bombings, however, changed the shopping in the metropolis forever. Gone are the days when one could casually walk into a mall or a movie theatre. Now there are security guards at all the malls and you cannot enter without having the underside and the boot of the car checked. At many malls at entry points one has to pass through a metal detector. After that bags and purses are checked.

Majority of malls have hired private security agencies to look after security. Tops Detectives is an agency that looks after security at Shopper's Stop of Chembur. Its security in-charge Murlidhar Mahadik told Deccan Herald that "by grace of God, there has been not a single accident or mishap at Chembur Shopper's Stop, since its opening in December 2000."

While securitymen are everywhere inside and outside the shop, Mr Mahadik said the customers are not frisked, as is done at a few other malls. The staff, however, is frisked while entering and exiting. There are CCTVs installed at the entry point and at jewellery area, but not in trial rooms or other places in the mall, which is spread over a ground plus two floors.

The agency has a Disaster Management Plan in place. In case of fire, there is an emergency exit and all those inside the mall can be evacuated. There are fire extinguishers and fire fighting system in place. On floors, the agency has its security staff deployed to check thefts. "We don't have CCTVs everywhere, on floors it is physical detection by our security staff," Mr Mahadik said.

In case of any mishap or accident, the agency has a tie up with certain doctors and hospitals which collaborate in providing emergency treatment. Each merchandise is connected with an advanced electronic surveillance system and if anybody tries to steal or take away a product without paying, then at the exit the merchandise gives a bip to the surveillance machine and it is immediately detected. The customer is then requested either to pay for that product or return it. "We do not have any authority to detain the person, we can only request him to pay," Mr Mahadik said.

Traffic snarls
Malls in suburbs have large parking areas to accomodate vehicles. However, those in the city cause lot of traffic problem, like this shop at Chembur.

Those residing in and around these malls are quite harried by the traffic troubles especially during holidays. In some cases, residents have trouble getting their cars in and out of the building compound due to crowds the malls are pulling.