http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...5§ion=news
BOMBAY (Reuters) - Indian authorities have decided to close some 600 cabarets in the commercial capital Bombay, a government spokesman said Wednesday, robbing the country's entertainment hub of one of its major attractions.
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The bars are not illegal, but police say some act as a front for prostitution and had cracked down on them last year and arrested hundreds of girls.
But the closure of the cabarets was likely to render jobless more than 150,000 people across the state, including dancers, waiters, bouncers and security guards, officials said.
Bar owners and dancers staged street protests after the decision to close cabarets outside Bombay and they threatened Wednesday to step up demonstrations.
"The government's decision will force a majority of the 75,000 girls working in bars into the flesh trade at one go," said Varsha Kale, president of Bharatiya Bar Girls' Union.
"Most girls working in bars are the only breadwinners in a family. They will now be unable to pay their rent and starve."