‘Neera tapping not viable with restrictions’.

Times of India: Tirpur: Monday, January 1, 2017.

The regulations governing neera (sweet toddy) tapping make it difficult for coconut farmers, who want to engage in it, secretary of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Agriculturists Associations C Nallasami said here. Restrictions on tapping and selling of the drink should be removed, he demanded.

Nallasami, also the president of the Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement, had petitioned chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami with the demand when the latter visited Kangeyam to attend a private function.

"For any non-alcoholic beverage, farmers should get license automatically. But, the government has given a fresh permission for tapping neera, that too with many restrictions. Only 5% of coconut trees or palm trees on a farm can be used for extracting neera. The tapping could not be done individually, but only by a company of co-operative societies. Moreover, the farmers should get permissions each time for extracting and selling the drink. With corruption everywhere, farmers will struggle to get so many permissions," Nallasami told TOI.

"Even when Bihar and Kerala governments brought a ban on alcoholic beverages, toddy was exempted. As per the information obtained under RTI Act, Tamil Nadu government said it banned toddy in January 1, 1987, only because it could not control the adulteration of the beverage with chloral hydrate, not because of its alcoholic content," he added.