Bars across the city remained shut on Monday after the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHAR) declared a bandh last week, in protest against what they called an ‘unjust’ hike in value-added tax (VAT), licence fees, and excise duty.

General Secretary of AHAR, Vijay K Shetty, told mid-day, “All the 19,200 permit rooms and bars have complied with our protest and are observing a dry day today. We want the authorities to understand how serious we are about our demands, as complying with the government’s tax hikes would result in huge losses for our industry.”

Felicia Restaurant & Bar in Dhobi Talao