TIRUCHY: NTK coordinator Seeman on Wednesday said that toddy is a nutrient-rich drink which helps prevent diseases, and the tapping of the palm wine could create employment and generate income for the government.

Addressing the conference urging to lift the ban on toddy tapping in Tiruchy after a rally from a palm grove at Samayapuram in the outskirts of the city, Seeman said, many leaders in DMK have their own liquor factories and so the State government, in order to encourage them, failed to lift the ban on toddy which is a healthy drink.

Reiterating that toddy is a nutrient supplement, Seeman said that consuming this natural drink will prevent diseases. Apart from this, tapping of toddy would generate employment and hence increase the income to the State government too, he said.

He also stated that the toddy tapping is allowed in states such as Kerala, Andhra and Karnataka, as the politicians do not run liquor factories there. “But in Tamil Nadu, the leaders have their own liquor factories and so they failed to lift the ban on toddy,” Seeman charged.

Despite police denying permission for the conference, Seeman organised it, in which several hundred toddy tappers took part. As the meeting was organised without permission, police booked cases against 25 persons, including Seeman. Meanwhile, Seeman introduced Thenmozhi as the party candidate for Manachanallur assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.

He added that the State government has been wasting Rs 24,000 crore on schemes such as Naan Mudhalvan and Puthumai Penn just to woo the voters. “Whose money is this? The government is wasting people’s money,” he said.