Most of the Bars in the state would remain shut down starting from today in wake of protests by the Bar Owners Association of the State over incredibly high quantum of new tax rates imposed by the Government.
Recently the State Production Department raised the Yearly taxes by 300 percent which can be afforded only by few big bars. Â An Estimate says that 98 percent of Bars cannot afford to remain in business with this quanta of tax.
In view of this, the Bar Owners have decided not to renew their licenses for the financial year 2013-14 starting from today. This means,  only those bars located in Big Hotels would remain open from today while rest of them would shut down.
Though this move would have an impact on the sale of liquor in the state and may curb crime to some extent, this also means significant loss of revenue to the state.
The Government is reluctant to roll back the new rates of taxes  thus entering into a deadlock with the bar owners.