Neera café in Hyderabad to be open for public soon

The café, which was built at a cost of Rs 13 crore on Necklace Road, is likely to be inaugurated in the next few days by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

Hyderabad: Telangana is set to have its very first government-run Neera Café soon, where customers will be able to enjoy Neera, the unfermented nectar from the palm trees.

The café, which was built at a cost of Rs 13 crore on Necklace Road, is likely to be inaugurated in the next few days by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

Nagarjuna Goud, Assistant Executive Engineer at Telangana Tourism, said Neera which is extracted from Palmyra or Indian date palm trees will be processed here and then sold. “All the machinery that is needed is available. The place can accommodate 300 to 500 people and seven stalls are ready. The place will be open for the public in the next 15-20 days,” he said.

Also, boating facilities will be available for the public from the café to Buddha Statue at Tank Bund.“Currently, neera will only be available at this café in the city. The takeaway system will also be there,” Nagarjuna added.

The café is surrounded by palm trees, to which earthen pots are attached. The roof has been designed in the shape of a palm leaf. To run these stalls, licenses for the production and sale of neera would be given to the members of the Goud community alone for now, as per Telangana’s excise policy.

Neera is a sweet natural extract from Palmyra or Indian date palm trees. The extract is collected in an earthen pot, which is tied to the tree before sunrise. The liquid that is collected is neera, which is non-alcoholic. After fermentation, the same extract becomes toddy, which has four per cent alcohol content. This is the major difference between the toddy and the neera. However, neera has a short shelf life. At 4 degrees, it can stay up to five days.

The State government is endorsing the drink as it is said to be highly nutritious since it contains magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, protein, sugar, and vitamin C.

It is said to have the ability to improve the internal cleansing mechanism of the body, thereby helping in fending off issues like diabetes, and fatty liver and heart issues.