Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Oct 25: Akhila Bharat Billavara Union president Navinchandra D suvarna has welcomed the decision of the state government in reducing the rate of interest in respect of loans availed by the toddy tappers of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts from the present 14% per annum to 6% and also in bringing toddy out of the purview of the excise act.

The Union has been pursuing these demands with the state government since long. Toddy  is a herbal Ayurvedic medicine and hence the government was asked to keep it outside the purview of the excise act, he said.

Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, while participating in the Narayana Guru birth anniversary celebrations held in the city on September 28 this year under the aegis of the Union, had announced that the government would accede to these long-pending demands of the toddy tappers. "The government has responded positively to the problems faced by the  hard working Billava toddy tappers through this decision. For this, the Akhila Bharat Billavara Union is grateful to both B S yeddyurappa and food and civil supplies minister Haratral Halappa," Suvarna said in a release.