The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Coconut growers to stage protest over neera

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Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
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Coconut growers to stage protest over neera

Special Correspondent

They want Government to facilitate tapping and sale of neera

Neera termed a health drink
Neera tapping more remunerative to farmers than coconut sale: technologist

BANGALORE: A section of the coconut growers, which is keen to tap “neera”, has threatened to stage a non-violent protest from October 2 along with freedom fighters and Sarvodaya activists if the State Government fails to facilitate its tapping and sale by bringing out a neera policy.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Monday, Indian Institute of Neera and Palm Products Technology president and neera technologist Swami Bhakti Teertha demanded that the Government should set up a neera board to support the measures to tap, process and market neera as well as its products.

He alleged that though the Horticulture Department had prepared a draft neera policy in 2007, it had been put on hold due to pressure from various lobbies in the government. All that was required for implementation of the neera policy was a clearance from the Cabinet, he said.

Such a policy as well as neera boards and federations had been formed in many States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala and Bihar.

Swami Bhakti Teertha maintained that neera was actually a health drink which was rich in nutrients.Swami Bhakti Teertha claimed that tapping neera was more remunerative to farmers than selling coconuts.

After deducting their expenses, it was possible to get a daily income of Rs. 5 per tree by tapping neera, he noted. Neera activists are planning to stage a protest in the State if the Government failed to respond positively to their demand.

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