Are Shopping Malls a Boon or a Bane?

Shopping Malls: Boon or Bane
The world has witnessed rapid economic development in last twenty years. Countries specially, India, China, Brazil, Russia etc have seen rapid growth in terms of direct foreign investments, development of infrastructure and migration of rural population to urban centres. Shopping malls, expressways, commercial centres rule the urban landscape amidst sordid state of social structure and governance. Shopping malls are seen as weekend hubs for shopping, dining or anything like passing time. Malls provide a good heaven for lovers who earlier used to find a secluded place in a public park. The retail stores provide employment to youth who have to support their extra large families; thanks to their parents who never cared about the load of increasing population and the problems it is causing. The great urban middle class is hell bent to shun home cooked food and add some savvy dishes to their ever increasing piquancy to taste food at food courts. A mall is a centre of immense economic activity, though at some expense to the environment. A large mall situated along a narrow road in Gurgaon or Noida is a host to queues of vehicles. Queues that line up several kilometres causing huge deficiency to nation already starved for diesel and petrol. Please check the smog that results from fumes emitted from exhaust tubes of these vehicles. Electricity distributers never have enough to supply to the shopping malls. So they need to burn on an average of 5000-7000 litres of diesel per day to stay in operational mode. Quite a huge volume! This can light up an apartment complex for a month. Now the food courts where you relish your favourite food generates 2-3 tonnes of toxic waste every day. The landfills are helpless. Look where the polystyrene cups and plates that you use go every day. And the poor washroom in a mall that has to take a load of ten thousand visitors every day. You are aware that 50% people never wash their hands after peeing. Then they hold the same door knob that you hold while quitting the washroom. Then you go to your favourite fast food restaurant and eat with same hands. I was wondering why cough, cold, herpes, skin irritation and allergies are so common these days. The air inside the huge mall is conditioned again and again. The oxygen level is at minimum. Sure you feel achy back, hardened tendons and tired ankles. Thanks to lack of oxygen that causes terrible muscle fatigue. You always loved that mall, but I always hate the first part when you have to go through security scanner. An unknown person scans, frisk and touches your whole body, as if you are a terrorist or a thief. How good it feels when you are insulted by your fellow countryman like this.
Have a good mall weekend.