Telangana’s first Neera cafe opened in Hyderabad; govt aims to add fizz to health drink market

The cafe is maintained by the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) and supported by the Telangana State Prohibition and Excise Department. A pet project of Excise Minister V Srinivas Goud, who hails from the same community, the government hopes to set up more Neera procurement centres and open up the market for private players from the Goud community.

Neera is nothing but a sap from palm and date trees, and with its natural nutrients and many health benefits, it is being promoted as a non-alcoholic energy drink. The same, when fermented, becomes toddy. (Express Photo by Rahul V Pisharody)

At present, the government has created a capacity for procuring around 1,000 litres of Neera every day. The officials identified two villages – Mudwin and Cherikonda – about 50 km away from Hyderabad and located in the Rangareddy district where around 500 local toddy tappers have been trained in securing the sap without letting it ferment. They have been provided with specially designed boxes that could keep the freshly extracted nectar under less than 0 degrees Celsius.

“The collection centre at Neera Society pays tappers Rs 50 per litre. There are 30,000 to 40,000 palm trees in these two villages alone. If the tapper can supply about 10 to 20 litres a day, that is an earning of approximately Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 a month. This is a pilot project where the government wants to set up the SOPs and market for Neera and allow private players to come in,” an official told The Indian Express.

The society which supplies Neera to the cafe in Hyderabad is paid up to Rs 160 per litre. The same, when it reaches the market, is sold for Rs 300 a litre. At the Neera cafe in Hyderabad, a packaged bottle of 300 ml is priced at Rs 90. The drink has to be maintained at less than 4 degrees and is best to consume before 4 days. A cold chain system is developed to prevent the nectar from fermenting during procurement, transit or preservation. The technology is developed and transferred by Kasaragod-headquartered ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) in Kerala.

The state government is promoting Neera as a drink that will improve one’s immunity, control blood pressure, strengthen bones, prevent anaemia, improve digestion, improve eyesight, among many other things. (Express Photo by Rahul V Pisharody)

“It is 100 per cent natural. We do not add any additives or anti-fermentation solutions or preservatives. After bottling, we can keep it for up to 4 days though it is still consumable for even a week if kept in a freezer,” another officer said.

At the cafe, a plant is set up with machines for filtering, freezing, and even pasteurisation, in addition to equipment for preparing byproducts such as jaggery. “We are not pasteurising Neera for now. But if and when required, we can increase the bottled Neera’s shelf life up to 45 days if the demand is less. Then, it will not ferment in up to 20 degrees also,” he said. The price of the product is kept at Rs 90 for a 300 ml bottle. “We are selling at a market price. To encourage private players, our price has to be on a par with the market rate.”

The state government is promoting Neera as a drink that will improve one’s immunity, control blood pressure, strengthen bones, prevent anaemia, improve digestion, improve eyesight, among many other things.

There are more than 3 lakh toddy tappers in Telegana. If the tapper can supply about 10 to 20 litres a day, that is an earning of approximately Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 a month. (Express Photo by Rahul V Pisharody)

At the launch event, a few tappers appeared in two minds. A toddy tapper for the last 30 years, Rajender Goud from Turkayamjal near Ibrahimpatnam said he would wait to watch. “What we tap is toddy. I have five palm trees and get about 12 to 15 litres of toddy a day, which I can sell for Rs 100 a litre,” he said. Another toddy tapper, Ellanki Janayya, 73, wondered about the process of preventing neera from fermenting into toddy as it starts fermenting in a matter of hours. “Even the neera we drink in rural areas is fermented to some extent and intoxicating. The bottled neera is nowhere close to what we drink,” he said.

Projecting itself as pro-tapper community, the state government on Tuesday also announced an insurance scheme for toddy tappers. In a note issued after a review meeting, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that a sum of Rs 5 lakh will be deposited in the bank account of the bereaved family within a week of death, in case a toddy tapper dies accidentally while doing his job. Named ‘Geetha Karmikula Bhima’, the scheme is envisaged on the lines of Rythu Bhima for farmers.