SIDDIPET: Haritha Haram programme, launched with a view to increasing the green cover in Telangana, has come as a boon in disguise for toddy tappers. The toddy saplings that were planted about eight years ago have now grown to full size and are ready for tapping alcoholic beverage.
With a lot of trees yielding plenty of toddy, there is no shortage of unadulterated beverage — a win-win situation for both consumers and toddy tappers.
About 50 families from Kishtasagar village, which is two-and-a-half-km away from the district headquarters of Siddipet, tap toddy and sell it to consumers from 5.30 am to 10.00 am and earn a cool Rs 1,000 a day. People from Siddipet town and surrounding villages make it a point to go to Kishtasagar to consume ‘unadulterated’ toddy. To keep the faith of their loyal costumers, Kishtasagar Geetha Karmika Sangam (KGKS) has decided to cancel the membership of those who resort to adulteration of toddy.
When Nara Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, about 21 acres of land was allocated to toddy tappers to raise trees, according to Ensanpally Ramulu, president of KGKS. After bifurcation of the state, excise official planted toddy trees in eight acres in the village as part of the Haritha Haram programme of the previous BRS government.
Out of 3,000 saplings planted in the village, 1,000 are yielding toddy now and helping toddy tappers to become financially independent, said Ramulu. According to him, each tree yields two-five litres of toddy every day and a litre of the brew fetches Rs 100.
Mostly they have costumers coming from Siddipet and there is more rush on Saturdays and Sundays. Some times, consumers from as far as Hyderabad, Dubbak, Gajwel and other towns also come to the village for toddy.
They tap toddy for three months and leave the palm trees untouched for a year. This one year holiday ensures higher yield of toddy from the tree, Ramulu explained.
A graduate, Ramulu has chosen his family profession after failing to get a suitable job. He said he encouraged others from his community to take up toddy tapping.