Hopes that the uncertainty around bars would revive interest in toddy shops seem to have been dashed by the tepid response to the demand for taking over the closed shops in the district.
About 100 toddy shops remain closed in the district – all the 61 in Mattancherry and Njarakkal excise ranges and another 40 spread over other ranges. A district-level committee meeting for the welfare of toddy workers held a few months back had decided to reopen these toddy shops. But things have not made any headway with Abkari contractors not evincing interest in them, which the excise department attributes mainly to feasibility issues.
“Shops originally identified for the purpose have been used for other things. Identifying new buildings in economically feasible areas has not been easy either. Besides, some areas falling under the ranges concerned are on the verge of being declared liquor-free,” a senior excise department official said.
Excise department said there was no dearth of toddy in the district. It was not the reason for having no takers for the shops in the district, the officials said. Enough tapping is going on in the district, especially in areas such as Paravur, while supply from Palakkad is also sufficient.
P.N. Seenulal, one of the State secretaries of the CITU-affiliated Kerala Samsthana Kallu Chethu Vyvasaya Thozhilali Federation, said there was a real dearth of tapping workers in both these ranges. Many of them had either left the field or had passed away, he said. It is also doubtful whether building owners are willing to spare their properties for running toddy shops. Mr. Seenulal said the United Democratic Front policy not to allow workers’ cooperative societies to run toddy shops had led to many unhealthy practices in the sector.
“The UDF decision was purely based on political considerations, as majority of workers in the toddy industry owe their allegiance to the Left parties. Because of the policy, many societies have either become defunct or diverted their operations to other areas,” he said.
