Chennai:
Transactions worth several lakh rupees were hit following a bomb scare
in Ampa Skywalk near Nungambakkam on Friday.
Employees at the mall said that it was around 11.30 am, just when the
business was picking up that some policemen appeared and asked them to
vacate shops.
“I opened the shop at around 11.10 am. Immediately, after 20 minutes,
several policemen came to the shop and asked us to vacate. They did
not tell us any reason as to why we have to vacate the premises,” a
manager of a shop told Express.
He said that he only came to know about the bomb scare after talking
to people outside. “The eviction started from fourth floor,” he said.
Raaj, floor in-charge of PVR Cinema said that no films were screened
till 3.30pm after the police gave the go-ahead permission. “People had
gathered for the first show which begins at 12pm. Immediately,
policemen arrived and asked the people to vacate the premises,” he
said.
Interestingly, the tickets for nearly all the shows were available as
there was hardly any crowd at the cinemas. However, there were quite a
few people who waited to watch the movies despite knowing about the
bomb threat. “I think this is a prank or some sort of police drill,”
said Mahesh.
Interestingly, most of the employees rather panicking about the bomb
threat dismissed it as rumour. “We thought it was rumour or just a
drill to check the alertness of police. We did not take it seriously,”
said K Hemanathan, manager of Samsung showroom in Ampa Skywalk.
The worst hit due to the bomb scare were food court as well as the
Games corner. The mall as a whole wore a desolate look. Many of the
shops remained closed till 5pm. And in the food courts, there was
hardly any life.
While officials at food court or the restaurant chain refused to
divulge any information on financial transactions. It was learnt that
the chain of restaurants suffered a total of Rs 70,000 to 80,000 loss.
Similarly, the Games N More, which is a games corner for kids, was
also severely hit. “We used to do transactions worth Rs one lakh on
week-ends during the four-hour period between 11.30 to 3.30pm. Now we
hardly have any,” said an employee.
Even noted outlets like KFC and McDonalds were hit. “We could have
lost around Rs 30,000 to 40,000,” said an employee.
Transactions worth several lakh rupees were hit following a bomb scare
in Ampa Skywalk near Nungambakkam on Friday.
Employees at the mall said that it was around 11.30 am, just when the
business was picking up that some policemen appeared and asked them to
vacate shops.
“I opened the shop at around 11.10 am. Immediately, after 20 minutes,
several policemen came to the shop and asked us to vacate. They did
not tell us any reason as to why we have to vacate the premises,” a
manager of a shop told Express.
He said that he only came to know about the bomb scare after talking
to people outside. “The eviction started from fourth floor,” he said.
Raaj, floor in-charge of PVR Cinema said that no films were screened
till 3.30pm after the police gave the go-ahead permission. “People had
gathered for the first show which begins at 12pm. Immediately,
policemen arrived and asked the people to vacate the premises,” he
said.
Interestingly, the tickets for nearly all the shows were available as
there was hardly any crowd at the cinemas. However, there were quite a
few people who waited to watch the movies despite knowing about the
bomb threat. “I think this is a prank or some sort of police drill,”
said Mahesh.
Interestingly, most of the employees rather panicking about the bomb
threat dismissed it as rumour. “We thought it was rumour or just a
drill to check the alertness of police. We did not take it seriously,”
said K Hemanathan, manager of Samsung showroom in Ampa Skywalk.
The worst hit due to the bomb scare were food court as well as the
Games corner. The mall as a whole wore a desolate look. Many of the
shops remained closed till 5pm. And in the food courts, there was
hardly any life.
While officials at food court or the restaurant chain refused to
divulge any information on financial transactions. It was learnt that
the chain of restaurants suffered a total of Rs 70,000 to 80,000 loss.
Similarly, the Games N More, which is a games corner for kids, was
also severely hit. “We used to do transactions worth Rs one lakh on
week-ends during the four-hour period between 11.30 to 3.30pm. Now we
hardly have any,” said an employee.
Even noted outlets like KFC and McDonalds were hit. “We could have
lost around Rs 30,000 to 40,000,” said an employee.
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