Shoppers between Gate 3 and Gate 4 of the Villaggio Mall after the section opened yesterday. Abdul Basit
DOHA: The section of Villaggio Mall which was destroyed by a fire last year reopened yesterday.
The path to the illegal Gympanzee nursery, where 13 children, four teachers and two firefighters died on May 28, 2012 due to the fire, was seen covered with a white board with the logo of Villaggio Mall. Security Guards were deployed on both sides of the covered area. Shops in this area between Gate 3 and Gate 4 remained closed and staff of few shops was seen engaged in some internal work behind half opened shutters.
Some of the shops have put ‘Opening Soon’ notices on their entrance.
An employee of a company providing services at the Villaggio Mall said: “The mall management obviously wants the outlets to open soon as possible, but it all depend on the shopkeepers.”
However, an employee who worked at one of the closed outlets and now employed at a different branch said, “We have been informed that the area between Gate 3 and 4 are open now, but our shop might open only by August as there are lot of arrangements to be done like cleaning and bringing in the stocks.”
The Villaggio Mall which was closed in May last year soon after the deadly fire, was partially reopened in September.
The Peninsula
