KENDRAPARA: Toddy has taken on the mantle of the king of good times for tipplers as lockdown has pulled shutter on liquor sale in the district.Called Tadi locally, the fermented sap of date palm tree has become a hit among people who are pining for the high in the face of non-availability of liquor. More number of people are now flocking to villages to buy Tadi early in the morning. 

The lockdown has given an unexpected boost to our trade as we are making good money due to the emerging situation,” said Jiban Behera, a date palm juice seller of Rajnagar.A glass of Tadi comes at only `20, which is another reason for people to drink the beverage during the lockdown. Tadi sellers are required to pay auction money to the Government for collecting the juice from roadside date palm trees on its land. 

In many villages, owners and lease holders of date palm trees are collecting the juice with help of Tadi collectors. These collectors climb on the trees to fix earthen pots for collection of juice which involves the process of toddy tapping. Early in the morning, they bring down the pots and sell fresh Tadi to the people. 

Sarat Behera, a collector, said in the afternoon, a patch of the tree is shaved at the top and a soil-made pot hanged below for collection of the sap. The pot filled with sap is collected in the morning. A date palm tree can produce around 350-450 litre of fresh juice in a year, he informed.Usually during the summer, people gather near date palm trees for Tadi which is treated as a cool drink in rural parts of the district.

Excise Superintendent Basantiprava Nayak said consumption and sale of date palm juice is not illegal. However, many Tadi sellers mix liquor, sleeping pills, urea and other sedatives in the date palm juice and sell it to people to earn extra money. “We are regularly examining the Tadi being sold at different villages and action is being taken against persons found adulterating the sap,” Nayak added.