Hyderabad: Toddy has made a comeback in Hyderabad from Dasara after it was banned a decade ago. To start with, 10 toddy shops have been opened as against the 100-odd that existed before YSR government banned sale of toddy following complaints of adulteration from October 1, 2004.
Excise minister T. Padma Rao symbolically opened three shops in Erragadda, Tukaram Gate and Bhoiguda. Other new toddy sh-ops have come up in Golna-ka, Boggulakunta, Parsigutta, and Chikkadpally among other places.
“Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the TRS government kept its promise and opened toddy shops. The government will not get any revenue, but it will provide livelihood to thousands of toddy tappers and their families,” Mr Padma Rao told this newspaper.
Stating that huge advan-ces and rents demanded by house owners have made it difficult for opening of new toddy shops in the city, the excise minister said toddy supplied to Hyderabad was the excess available in districts like Mahbubnagar, Medak, Warangal, Karimnagar and others. With many addicted to cheap liquor, it has to be seen whether toddy gets back its lost clientele.
