No Aussie beer at bars

YOU may have to do without your favourite beer the next time you visit your local bar, as watering holes in the city have decided to ban Australian beer to protest against the attacks on Indian students Down Under

YOU may have to do without your favourite beer the next time you visit your local bar, as watering holes in the city have decided to ban Australian beer to protest against the attacks on Indian students Down Under.

With 12 recent cases of assault on Indian students reported from Melbourne, angry bar owners have decided to ban the country's beer to make sure Australian companies get no business.u00a0

"Why give business to those who do not respect our people staying in their country as guests? We make 15 per cent of our business from this brand but we'd rather make a loss than give business to our enemies," said Naresh Narayan Shetty, owner of Golden Chain bar and restaurant at Kala Chowki.

Shetty has put up a board in front of his bar informing customers that Australian beer will no longer be served. "I'm also trying to convince the association to do the same," he added.

Shashidar Shetty, a restaurant and bar owner at Byculla has also decided to join the bandwagon. "If they don't respect our people why should we promote their brand? It's high time we reacted... otherwise we'll remain victims. We don't have much power in our hands but we can protest by banning their brands," he said.

When Sunday MiD-DAY contacted Narayan Alva, president of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association
(AHAR), he said, "We need to look into the matter as this is a very sensitive issue and we need to take a collective decision. We will speak to the other 8000 AHAR members."

Meanwhile, the association of five-star hotels is happy with the move made by bar owners. "If the attacks continue, we may join them. We will speak to other hoteliers too. This will show a sense of solidarity," said SP Jain, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRA-WI).

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