The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi launched the sale of palm juice in tetra packs from the month of November.

The tetra packs, filled with the nutritious palm juice, will have an expiry period of 40 days. These packs will replace the polythene covers which are used currently. This new move announced by the CM will benefit more than 30,000 families involved in tapping and selling palm juice and other palm products.

The announcement has raised a lot of eyebrows as the Tamil Nadu Toddy movement is fighting for rights to sell Toddy. In addition to the tetra packs, the government has also decided to sell other palm products such as jaggery, handworks etc. Palm juice is considered a healthy drink as it has lot of nutrition content in it. Palm juice has calcium, Phosphorus and Iron and can be used to cure chicken pox.

It is interesting to note that the State Government had earlier formed a committee led by retired Justice K. P. Sivasubramanian to look into the feasibility of toddy sale. The Government has now named a committee for looking into the report and explore the feasibility of opening toddy shops.

This scheme will be in full swing after November when the season starts. The tetra packs will be available for sale through Aavin outlets.