PATNA: To quench their thirst this summer, Patnaites will have something else other than usual cold or soft drinks as
Jeevika is to make available Neera (palm nectar) in bottles at its outlets from second week of April.
Jeevika will also launch Neera ice cream, sugar-free ‘peda’ and flavoured Neera around the same time.
The Bihar State Milk Cooperative Federation Ltd (Comfed) tied up with Jeevika last year to package and sell Neera in bottles at the Jeevika outlets. “The ongoing experimentation is complete. Neera packaged in bottles will be available from the second week of April,” industries department’s deputy director Umesh Kumar Singh said on Wednesday. The price per bottle has not been fixed yet.
“The other Neera products will be available between Rs10 and 15 per piece or Rs300/kg,” Jeevika project manager Anil Kumar Yadav said.
There will be three extra Neera outlets in Patna apart from the existing three sale counters set up last year near Vidyut Bhawan at income tax roundabout, Udyog Bhawan near Gandhi Maidan and the main gate of Patna zoo.
The outlets would open between 8:30 and 9am. Last year, Neera proved very popular among people and most of the stock was sold out within 2 hours of opening of the outlet. One glass of Neera costs Rs10.
Efforts are being made to increase the production of Neera in the state and popularize it as a healthy drinks as substitute to cold drinks or other artificial soft drinks. Initially, the tappers from Gaya, Nalanda, Nawada, Banka, Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Aurangabad, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Saran, Jehanabad and Patna were trained, but all the 38 districts have been included this year for training.
“The problem is how to dispose of the fresh Neera before it converts into toddy. Two-day extensive training is provided to tappers on how to tap good quality Neera and keep it hygienic with increased shelf life,” Yadav said.
