Toddy Tappers Impacted Big Time by Realty Boom

Though Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s promise to increase pension amount from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,016 per month came as a relief to toddy tappers in the State, they are still reeling under severe financial crisis due to shortage of trees.

The situation worsened after the reorganisation of districts in 2016. After the carving out of various new districts, there was a real estate boom in the State and several firms started buying large areas of lands to expand their business. The areas they purchased also included lands with toddy plantations and trees. Soon after buying these lands, the firms removed the trees, from which the tappers used to get toddy, to clear the areas so that they can divide the large plots into small ones to sell.

As a result, the tappers are now finding it really hard to earn a living by extracting toddy and are now migrating to other towns and cities in search of employment for daily wages. As Warangal is developing rapidly, and the city has become the second largest in Telangana after the State capital, all real estate firms are now eyeing on the district and are making beeline to purchase lands here, so that they can sell it to various entrepreneurs and companies who have planned several projects.

Keeping this scenario in mind, the real estate firms are also purchasing lands, especially farmlands, in surrounding villages and are developing them into open plots. It has to remembered that most people grow toddy plantations near agricultural lands in rural areas and as a result of this, the tappers are now suffering as they can’t stick on to their traditional livelihood.

When Express interacted with a few toddy tappers in the district, they alleged the first thing that the realtors do after purchasing farmlands is that they remove the toddy trees.