Thousands of women working in Mumbai's dance bars, which the Maharashtra state government has decided to shut down, came out on the streets on Tuesday to demand a rehabilitation package.

The women said that without a clear rehabilitation programme, many of the estimated 75,000 dancers in bars across the state would be forced into prostitution.

"The government's decision will throw so many girls out on the streets without any livelihood," said Varsha Kale, president of the Indian Bar Girls' Union.

"Most of these girls are the only bread earners in their families. Most of them are migrants, and if they don't earn any money they will be without shelter," Kale told the gathering at the city's sprawling Azad Maidan.

The Maharashtra government had last month said that all dance bars, except in Mumbai, would be banned. The shutdown was later extended to Mumbai.

A timeframe for implementing the ban had, however, not been finalised.

"The government has no idea what the ban may lead to. We will not allow the government to shut down the bars without a comprehensive rehabilitation package," Kale said.

The union also urged the government to defer the shutdown for at least three months to work out a rehabilitation package.

"We at least need three months within which all stakeholders will work out alternate employment for the women," she said.

Over 2,000 dance bars operate in Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state. Apart from the dancers, the bars employ thousands of others, as waiters and for other jobs.

The bars are seen by many as fronts for prostitution rackets.

"The government is banning the bars on the ground that they corrupt the youth. Why aren't the authorities banning all the pubs and discos in glitzy hotels?" asked a dancer who called herself Priya.