PANAJI
A move mooted by the Excise department to tweak rules and regulations to do away with auctioning cashew zones has prompted the feni distilling local industry to rise in protest fearing disruption this upcoming 2020-21 season.
The move first came to the knowledge of some industry stakeholders earlier last week when officials called them to the Excise headquarters for consultations.
Soon after the Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association shot off a letter to the Excise Commissioner opposing any changes in the law or rules governing country liquor.
The association which co-owns the Geographical Indication (GI) for the heady drink, said the proposed changes will disrupt the age old economic activity.
"They are proposing to do away with a more than a century old practice of zoning cashew orchards and auctioning them. It will be a free for all if they do leading to chaos," Gurudutta Bhakta, the president of the Association said.
He also said the cashew distillation process (traditional) is cumbersome and local exponents have low budgets and resources. Also, licensing to set up the traditional distilling equipment which was automatic for winning bidders at the cashew zone auctions will also have to through a process laden with bureaucratic redtape if the law is tweaked.
Hansel Vaz, secretary of the association and owner of the popular brand 'Cazulo' voiced similar concerns and expressed concern that the move could be a ploy on behalf of the IMFL lobby to displace the cottage industry style functioning and replace it with mass producing distilleries.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat has urged the government to drop the idea. He said: "The tradition of auctioning of cashew groves and setting up of pot stills is unique to Goa and India. The tradition has been practiced for centuries and whose legacy has to be continued for generations to come to safeguard the interest of the small and marginal artisanal distillers."
