KARIMNAGAR: Apart from damaging crops, untimely rains and hailstorms have affected the production of toddy (fermented sap of palm) in Karimnagar district. With heavy rains lashing the district for the past three days, oozing of sap from palm and date palm trees, which is used to make toddy, has come to a standstill.
Tappers, who depend on the daily sale of toddy, are worried with the halt in production. They say that even if the rains stop, there will be no extraction for at least a week. Local toddy tapper Ponnam Bhumaiah stated that they have already tied pots to palm trees, but owing to the heavy rains, the sap is not oozing freely. Toddy is basically fermented palm. It is prepared by fermentation of sap obtained from palm trees. The sap is obtained from trees through a process called bleeding. It is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. Tappers climb up palm trees to collect the sap.
In Karimnagar, toddy tappers are worried about the loss of earnings brought on by the rains. While they earn Rs 800 per day on an average, it has come down to nil owing to the untimely showers since the last few days.
They requested the state government to provide them with compensation, as is common for ryots growing paddy and other commercial crops. They added that it is the peak season for their trade, and claimed that the consumption of toddy can help patients with cancer or kidney ailments. It also helps cut down liquor consumption, they said.