Bengaluru: Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda has ordered the closure of the Phoenix Mall of Asia from 10 am, New Year's Eve, through January 15, 2024.
Police have also written to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to withdraw or cancel the partial occupancy certificate given to the mall.
Located in northern Bengaluru's Byatarayanapura, the new shopping mall has been in the news for weeks now. It has caused severe traffic jams on Ballari Road, which connects the city centre with the airport. It has also come under the scanner for charging pedestrians a Rs 200 entry fee.
Last week, self-styled Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli and four of his associates picked a fight with a security guard over a large Christmas tree put up inside the shopping mall. Then there was the controversy over Kannada signboards, which forced it to shut on December 27.
On Saturday, Dayananda exercised his powers under sections 144(1) and 144(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code to order the mall to restrict public access "to prevent annoyance and disturbance to public tranquillity and provide (a) safe environment for traffic and public at large".
However, if any person has been adversely affected by the order, they can write to the commissioner's office seeking to modify or cancel it under section 144(5) of the CrPC, Dayananda stated.
As per the order, the police commissioner received reports related to "inconveniences and disturbances" to public tranquillity after the mall opened in October. Residents staged a flash protest outside the mall on December 24. Local organisations and schools/colleges complained to the police about the "chaos" caused by the mall.
On December 24 and 25, when a large number of people visited the mall, around 2,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers were haphazardly parked on the surrounding streets, disturbing traffic.
Police anticipate similar crowds on New Year's Eve, January 13 (second Saturday) and Makara Sankranti (January 14). Therefore, the police commissioner has ordered that the mall be shuttered for two weeks as an "emergency measure".
The traffic police estimate that the mall needs to provide parking for at least 10,000 cars and as many as two-wheelers. "If this matter is left unattended, there will be uproars and frequent disputes", the order said.