Neeramrutham, the first Neera cafe as part of the Telangana government initiative to support traditional toddy tappers of the Goud community, was inaugurated on Necklace Road in Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 3. State Excise, Sports, Tourism, Culture, and Youth Services Minister V Srinivas Goud and Minister of Animal Husbandry and Cinematography Talasani Srinivas Yadav inaugurated the cafe.
Neera is a drink made out of a fresh extract from palm trees. It is brought to the cafe from various collection centres in villages. Neera turns into toddy when the extract is fermented over a period of time. Packaged Neera and related goods like honey, sugar, and jaggery are available at Neera Cafe.
Built at a cost of Rs 13 crore, the cafe can accommodate 300-500 persons in its stalls that are surrounded by palm trees. Located near the Hussain Sagar Lake, the cafe offers a traditional, rural ambience and is designed with hanging earthen pots and palm trees.
The cafe will be open to visitors from 10 am to 10 pm and also provides take away service. There is also a food court at the cafe. It is anticipated that the cafe will be crowded throughout the summer. More such cafes will be reportedly opened by the government soon.
As speculations about naming the cafe Vedamrutham circulated in January this year, a dispute had broken out between members of Brahmin associations and the Jai Goud association. The Jai Goud leaders argued that Neera is not alcoholic and is even mentioned in the Vedas. Later, the Excise Minister clarified that Neeramrutham would be the name of the cafe and not Vedamrutham.