One-day restaurant strike fails to impact Kolkata

The one-day nationwide strike called by Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI) to protest the latest service tax imposed on air-conditioned restaurants did not have any impact here Monday.

Most hoteliers and restaurant owners in the city were not even aware of the strike.

Ishtiaque Ahmed, managing director, Shiraz Hotels, said no restaurants in Kolkata were closed during the day.

"We do not have any information about the shutdown as the association does not have a strong presence here," Ahmed told IANS.

"I came to know about the strike this evening when I called Mumbai and learnt that the shutdown evoked much response there," he said.

He, however, felt that the strike, called by FHRAI to protest the newly-levied service tax on air-conditioned eateries in the recent union budget, was genuine.

"Imposition of this new tax is not fair. We could have participated in the shutdown had we come to know about this earlier," he added.