In The Name of the Government....

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Climbing a 150 feet tall palm tree, without any machinery aid is truly a challenging task for anyone. But, it is a daily routine for 30 years old Chinnappan, who is a palm wine (Padhaneer in Tamil) tapper by profession. He climbs four trees in a day, to earn his livelihood, which is about 600 feet up and down.  No wonder, this is considered to be one of the toughest jobs in the entire world.  
Being a seasonal employment, palm wine tapping brings only a meager income to his family. Hence, he has to seek another job during rest of the months of the year, to run his family. After enforcing a ban on tapping toddy, which is a fermented form of the sap, this business has lost its charm and enthusiasm. Hence, to prevent the sap from fermentation, quicklime is applied inside the mud pot that is fastened to the palm flower.
Though his counterparts in the neighboring states, extract toddy without any problems, it is an illegal affair across the state of Tamil Nadu. The reasons stated by the government for prohibition are not so convincing, as it claims to destroy peoples’ lives.
Moreover, the palm sap is a natural drink, which also contains certain medicinal properties. Some pollinating mammals consume fermented nectar for their diet. Consuming fermented palm wine might have worse ramifications; nevertheless the liquors sold by the state owned shops are disastrous to the public in all ways.
The revenue generated by Tamil Nadu government by selling liquor is over 23,000 crores during the year of 2013. Most of the drinks are substandard in quality and priced at exorbitant rates.
The message is very clear that we have no rights to destroy ourselves, but they do. 

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