Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the government proposes to serve toddy at five-star hotels, the non-availability of good quality beverage remains a challenge. The cost of extraction of toddy has been going up and would not fetch profits with the existing ceiling on prices. Only two to three people secure licences for toddy shops though 112 toddy shop licences can be given across 10 excise ranges in the district. Annually, less than a dozen people shows interest in auctions for toddy shops held during March-May months.
“Around 700 ml of toddy can be sold at around Rs 45 to Rs 80 depending on the quality of food that the toddy shop serves. However, the labour cost required to fetch this much toddy makes it a less lucrative business,” said a staffer who is also a toddy tapper union member. “We can tap only 24 ‘moodu’ daily. Which means eight coconut trees can be tapped three times a day. We need to employ special squads to go and check the trees or else the tapper will sell it to someone else. So apart from '400 labour cost for the tapper, we need to pay Rs 300 as patrolling cost that involves fuel charges,” he added.
Adding to the woes, unlike in the past many do not lease their coconut tree for toddy tapping. Also, toddy tappers are involved in a struggle to raise their salary to Rs 1000 per day. Regular toddy lovers say that good quality toddy has become a myth. Chloral hydrate and alcohol are the traditional adulterants added to toddy. “Last time three of us drank from a shop on the southern end of district. We reached home around 2pm and slept until around 7am the next day. So we assume there must be some adulteration going on. Earlier we could befriend some toddy shop guys and get good toddy but now it’s hard,” said Ajish S, a government servant.
