Over 1.5 lakh employees of shopping malls in Karnataka lost jobs in a year

News Network
June 13, 2021

Bengaluru, June 13: More than 1.5 lakh employees in shopping malls across Karnataka have become jobless due to lockdowns and restrictions over the past year and owners have incurred losses in crores of rupees. Mall owners have urged the government to allow them to reopen by June 21 to help them stem the tide.

Mukesh Kumar, chairman, Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) & CEO, Infiniti Malls, said for every person directly employed with malls, on an average, three others are indirectly employed, providing logistics and support.

“In such a scenario, at least 1.5 lakh people have lost their jobs in the state,” Kumar said during a press conference in Bengaluru on Friday. “Though around 50,000 of them were reemployed after malls reopened for a brief time, many were laid off during the second lockdown,” he said. He said over 50% of malls, a majority of them standalone ventures, will close down if no support is provided.

Sunil Munshi, AVP operations, Orion Malls, said almost 80% of employees working in malls, shops, restaurants and service sectors come from economically weaker sections.

Kumar said a moratorium extended by RBI last year ended in March and they now have nothing to fall back on. “There has hardly been any revenue for a retailer or the mall. The past few months have been so stressful that we don’t know how to cope,” he said.

He said on average, revenue from retail in malls in the state is Rs 2,000 crore per month. They pay Rs 350 crore GST. Due to lockdowns, retails have incurred losses of Rs 20,000 to 25,000 crore and governments have suffered GST loss of Rs 3,000 crore. “Malls have lost 15% of the revenue generated by retailers,” Kumar said.

Kumar said pre-Covid estimates show that across India, 1,000 malls generate monthly revenue of Rs 12,000-Rs 15,000 crore. The whole ecosystem has suffered almost Rs 1 lakh crore losses.

Najeeb Kunil, CEO, PPZ Mall Development & Management Services Co said they have urged the state government to provide waivers around rental / lease, electricity charges, upcoming renewals of existing permits / licenses / NOCs among others. They have also sought waiver of property taxes payment till January 2022 and support around minimum wages rates and guard-board payments until FY 2021-22.

He also feared a downstream effect hitting smallscale industries and small businesses which have no income with shopping malls shut. “The sooner they take a call and heed our requests, the better it will be for everyone in the ecosystem, not just the developers,” he said.

SCAI members said that the solution lies in reopening the shopping malls as soon as possible. Kunil said vaccination is a major solution. “We hope to be back to 90% of footfall by October,” he said.

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Ramesh Mishra
 - 
Friday, 25 Jun 2021

THE GLOBAL ECONOMY DURING AND AFTER COVID-19, PANDEMIC
The disciplined, law-abiding and skilled nations would reestablish the economy expediently than undisciplined, lawless and unskilled countries. Covid-19, the pandemic has crumbled the global economy putting India 50 years behind. Indian leaders were irresponsible in handling the Covid-19, pandemic, due to their Godly attitude and for the lack of respect for the Rule of Law causing massive death during the Covid-19, pandemic. India is now doomed.
Ramesh Mishra
Victoria, BC, CANADA

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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News Network
November 29,2025

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New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Saturday put up a dramatic display of unity at a closely watched joint press briefing, firmly dismissing weeks of speculation about a power-sharing tussle within the Congress. With the high command nudging both leaders to sit together and settle the dust, the meeting became a political spectacle, ending with the duo declaring that there was “no confusion, no differences.”

Calling the reports of a rift “manufactured confusion,” Siddaramaiah said the talks had gone smoothly, even joking about their breakfast. “Breakfast was very good. All three of us enjoyed it,” he said. “We want to end this confusion once and for all. For local elections and for 2028, our mission is clear — Congress must return to power. There is no difference between me and DKS, not now, not before.”

He blamed the media for fuelling rumours and reiterated absolute adherence to the party leadership. “From tomorrow, let there be no confusion. What the high command says, we will follow.”

Siddaramaiah also assured that the Assembly session starting December 8 would run smoothly and vowed that Congress would take on the BJP and JD(S) “together.”

Shivakumar echoed the chief minister word for word, stressing loyalty and discipline. “People have given us a massive mandate. It is our duty to deliver,” he said. “This government was formed under Siddaramaiah’s leadership. We both have complete trust in the high command. If they tell me to wait, I will wait.”

He added that the two leaders had discussed strategy for the 2028 Assembly elections. “Whatever the CM says, I agree. We are loyal soldiers of the party. The party may be facing challenges nationally, but we will keep it strong in Karnataka.”

Shivakumar also said Siddaramaiah would soon visit his home for lunch or dinner — another symbolic gesture meant to underline their unity.

Both leaders later posted on social media describing the breakfast meeting as “productive” and focused on “Karnataka’s priorities.”

The BJP, however, rejected the show of camaraderie as “pure bunkum,” accusing Congress of trying to paper over an internal power struggle. But Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar insisted their united front would continue — and that there was “no confusion” within the state leadership.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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