GURUGRAM: Shop owners of MG Road malls staged a protest on Thursday against what they claimed was the possibility of large-scale shifting of spas and massage parlours from Delhi to Gurugram. Mall retailers said they feared the relocation of the massage parlours to Gurugram malls will have a negative impact on their businesses already reeling under dwindling sales amid the second wave of the pandemic.
The Delhi government has recently come up with strict guidelines for massage parlours, restricting cross-gender massages and mandating certified staff and CCTV cameras to check sex trade and human trafficking. Due to these strict guidelines, Gurugram has been witnessing a surge in space enquiries by massage parlours and spas, according to shop owners and mall officials.
More than 100 shop owners protested inside MGF Metropolis Mall holding placards in their hands. Some residents of housing societies on the Mall Mile also joined the protest. They protesters alleged that such spas create nuisance and families are unable to visit the malls on MG Road in late evening. There are already 11 spas operating out of MGF Metropolis Mall and another one is coming up.
Akash Oberoi, a retailer in MGF Metropolis Mall, said, “This mall has around 300 shops, of which around 50 are vacant at present. But for every vacant shop, 4-5 people are ready to open a spa, they want to relocate from Delhi and are ready to pay high rentals. The mall already has 11 spas. The problem is that the women working at these spas create nuisance. This can have a negative impact on our businesses.”
In fact, there are over 500 spas and massage parlours across the city and more than 50 have been raided this year alone by the Gurugram police. Several staffers of these malls were arrested for their alleged involvement in flesh trade.
Residents of MG Road condominiums also claimed that many of the existing spas run flesh trade rackets under the garb of massage parlours. And the situation could turn worse if more spas are allowed to operate in these malls. “The Delhi government is not allowing spas and illegal activities. So, the affected ones are planning to shift to Gurugram. Let’s not make it ‘sin city’,” said Rajeev Sinha, a resident of Essel Tower.
The protesters also met Gurugram MLA Sudhir Singla. “No illegal activities should be allowed inside malls,” said Singla, adding that he had already requested the Gurugram police to keep an eye on such spas and massage parlours.
