THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s decision to legalise the sale of food served at toddy shops, where the lip-smacking spicy cuisine thrown in with the sweet and sour toddy, however has not lifted the spirits of the workers.
For, those in the business are finding it difficult to fill the glasses of tipplers due to shortage of toddy, especially during summer.
Many shops close down a few hours after the morning business as majority of them are not getting adequate quantity of natural toddy, especially in parts of South Kerala where tapping is relatively very low.
The number of ‘kallu shaaps’ (toddy shops) which was around 5,200 a few years ago is now pegged at less than 3,600, according to T N Rameshan, secretary, Kerala Chethu Thozhilali Federation.
The imbalance in the production and demand has been a deterrent as the consumption is at least 1 lakh litres more than the production of natural toddy.
The shortage is often met by spurious synthetic toddy. Kerala has an average production of 3 lakh litres toddy per day, with 80 per cent being generated from Palakkad’s Chittur taluk.
Though there is a huge demand for toddy during summer, it is also the time when there would be a steep fall in daily production.
If 3,600 toddy shops sell at least 100 litres toddy per day, the consumption will cross the production figures.
The state government should ensure that adequate amount of toddy is produced by planting short-duration high-yielding varieties of coconut, said Ajith Attingal, general secretary, Kerala Toddy and Abkari Workers Congress.
The government, on the other hand, is keen on enforcement measures to check the spread of spurious toddy rather than ensuring a sufficient quantity of natural toddy.
Enforcement is our mandate, said a senior excise official.
Another dampener is the distance limit set for setting up a new toddy shop. “A toddy shop is not allowed within the 400 metres of a place of worship, schools and colonies. It is hard to find such place in a panchayat,” Ajith said.
Ironically, the distance limit to open a bar is only 50 metres and that for a Bevco outlet is 200m. Further, by legalising the food sale through toddy shops, the shop owners will be brought under the GST purview.
“We are bound to serve neat and spicy food under hygienic surroundings, but bringing the sector to the tax regime in a later phase and other existing woes do not augur well for the sector,” say the toddy workers.
Plant short-duration palms
If 3,600 toddy shops sell at least 100 litres toddy per day, the consumption will cross the production figures.
The state government should ensure that adequate amount of toddy is produced by planting short-duration high-yielding varieties of coconut, said Ajith Attingal, general secretary, Kerala Toddy and Abkari Workers Congress.