Mumbai dance bars to reopen amid worries about more sex crimes

Mumbai

AFTER a 10-year hiatus, dance bars are set to reopen in Mumbai and Maharashtra state with activists warning women and girls could be trafficked and abused in these venues but bar owners arguing this is legitimate, needed work.

Western Maharashtra state in 2005 suspended the licences of hundreds of bars and hotels that featured skimpily dressed women dancing to Bollywood tunes on a small stage for male customers.