Shiv Prasad Meher
Sambalpur: Shopping malls are envisaged to be a one-stop service provider for their visitors in urban India. These days they are seen to be providing all sorts of services to customers, be it food, entertainment, fitness and healthcare solutions. However, there is one aspect where they are found wanting: setting aside space inside malls to enable breastfeeding.
Bipin Bhatia, a known face in the local social circuit, shared his concern about this, stating that visiting malls with families used to be pleasant experience, but they are no longer so.
“My daughter and her baby accompanied us to a mall Sunday. Suddenly, her baby started crying and all our efforts to pacify her bore no fruits. My daughter could realise that the baby was hungry and must be breastfed. But we failed to locate any private place in the entire mall, where she could carry out this. We had to end our visit abruptly and came back home. Later, I found out that no malls in Sambalpur have such facilities.”
Surya Panigrahi, a member of Sambalpur Child Welfare Committee (CWC) told Orissa Post that it was expected from large malls to keep such facilities as a mandatory provision like they have food courts, washrooms and multiplexes. “We would discuss the matter in our next meeting and approach the district administration and mall owners to open such facilities here,” he added.
District collector Samarth Verma said it has already come to his notice. “I am calling the mall owners of Sambalpur for a discussion on this subject,” he said, adding, “I am not sure whether such facility is available in other cities. Such a provision must be extended to lactating mothers.”
Sanjay Kumar, one of the directors of City Centre, the largest mall in Sambalpur, said he is going to consult other directors before making such a provision in his mall. Nevertheless, he, agreed that it was a humanitarian concern and must be addressed with priority.
