Welcome to Hyderabad: City houses India’s first Neera Café

Hyderabad: India’s first Neera Cafe has been opened in Hyderabad.

On Wednesday, Minister of Prohibition and Excise V Srinivas Goud and Minister of Cinematography T Srinivas Yadav inaugurated the state-owned establishment, which would offer the highly sought-after nonalcoholic extract from palm trees.

Neera Café, which was constructed with Rs. 13 crore as part of a state-sponsored effort to promote the heady beverage served up by traditional toddy tappers from the Goud community, has been set up close to the famous Budha Statue at Necklace Road.

Surrounded by palm trees with earthen pots, the Café can cater to 300 to 500 people. It is anticipated that all roads will lead to it throughout the summer. This gives the establishment an ethnic feel. The drink has the endorsement of the Excise department, which is preparing to launch a few more similar locations soon.

Excise Minister congratulated Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for implementing a variety of welfare measures to improve the toddy tappers community. Telangana’s Ku Haritha Haram effort has resulted in the planting of around 4.20 crore palm seedlings throughout the state. He warned that cutting down palm palms will result in harsh punishment.

Ex gratia payments to families of toddy tappers in the event of the unintentional death of their primary breadwinners have been raised from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh. Minister said Chief Minister has already announced extending an insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh to toddy tappers and promised to implement it along the lines of Rythu Bima. He said financial assistance of Rs. 50,000 previously given to those with permanent disabilities has been increased to Rs. 5 lakh.

Cafe Neera

* Price: Rs.13 crore

* Capacity: 300–500 people

* Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

* Cafe offers a takeaway service.

* The nation's first Neera Cafe

* A food court is present.

* Neera is an alcohol-free natural liquid.

* Neera is made from palm, coconut, eetha, dates, and jeeluga trees, among other sources.

* A boating facility connects the café with the Buddha monument.

What is Neera?

Neera or Toddy is a drink made from sap extracted from various fruits, mostly coconut and palm. It is a process that has been in practice for centuries and is now such an ingrained part of Indian rural culture. It is near impossible to imagine life without it.

They are highly nutritious. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin B-complex. It is also known to balance the pH of the body and restore the good bacteria in the intestine thereby curing indigestion, acidity, and gastric problems.