VR Punjab Mall, operated by VR Malwa Private Limited (VR Malwa) in Mohali, Punjab, has been closed with immediate effect, raising questions about the fate of hundreds of employees and stakeholders.The private firm, however, said the mall has been shut on account of the building structure being assessed to be unsafe following the adverse and unforeseen impact of the April 3 earthquake.Dwindling footfall, non-viability and a plethora of other options in the vicinity may have contributed to the closure.VR Malwa management said it decided to close the mall based on a structural assessment conducted by VR Punjab Mall’s operations and third-party technical team, which recorded that structural risks to the building were severe.The board of VR Malwa has, therefore, taken the decision to shut the mall to the public in the interest of ensuring public safety. This decision has been and is being conveyed to all necessary local authorities and all relevant mall stakeholders, including retailers, employees, suppliers, debtors, shareholders and the public.“VR Malwa will consider re-opening the VR Punjab Mall to the public only after it has evaluated that the mall structure is safe and fit for use by the public,” the statement reads.Established as North Country Mall in, the premier mall was rebranded as VR Mall in 2017, but the fortunes did not change.Recently, there was talk of the mall being re-purposed into a multi-specialty hospital, but nothing much has been heard about the deal of late.The trend of malls losing charm after the novelty factor dies down after some years has caught up here. In fact, one more mall in the heart of Mohali on busy Airport Road is also on its deathbed, with most of the showrooms locked here. The development comes at a time when Mohali has seen a renewed spurt of shopping màlls with more than half a dozen coming up in the last two to three years.