Over 25,000 hotels shut down in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: More than 25,000 hotels, restaurants and eateries remained closed today across Tamil Nadu as part of the nation-wide protest against the service tax levied on air-conditioned hotels.

Tamil Nadu Hotels Association Secretary R Srinivasan said more than 5,000 hotels in and around Chennai and over 20,000 in other parts of the state were shutdown in response to the one-day strike called by All India Hoteliers Federation.

The federation is protesting against the extension of service tax on airconditioned restaruants and hotels, introduced by the Centre from April 1.

Reports of closure of hotels also came in from various districts. In Erode, the strike was total as more than 2,000 hotels closed and even tea shops were also shut in many areas.

A Kumbakonam report said all big hotels in the temple town were closed.

In neighbouring union territory of Puducherry also all hotels and restaurants remained closed.

A spokesman of the Association of Hoteliers in Puducherry told PTI that there were around 150 hotels in Puducherry, a famous tourist place, and the imposition of the service tax was increasing the burden on the establishments as they were already reeling under the value added tax of ten per cent imposed by the union territory government.