Draw a lesson from this, and if necessary drink “toddy”, says Lalu

TIL Desk/National/Patna-Lalu Prasad, whose RJD is a major ally of the ruling Grand Alliance in Bihar, has advised habitual drinkers to consume “toddy”, locally called “tadi”, to avoid incidents like the hooch tragedy that has killed 16 people.

Lalu, who described the hooch tragedy in Gopalganj as a ‘heart wrenching incident’, said in his own style: “Sarab bandi ke baad ab jo milega jahrila hi milega. Aisi ghatna se sabak le, jaruri ho to tadi piyen. (After the liquor ban what you get will be poisonous. Draw a lesson from this, and if necessary drink toddy)”. For hundreds of thousands of people in rural Bihar toddy is considered the poor man’s beer and regarded as natural juice. For ages, toddy has been a favourite of villagers as a natural drink from the palm tree.

Soon after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced total prohibition in the state from April 5, 2016, a large number of people, including alcoholics, thronged toddy shops after the government banned “desi” or, country-made liquor as well as foreign made liquor. But later the state government also banned the sale of toddy, which was opposed by the people, including by Mr Prasad as well as the opposition BJP and its allies.