Goa, Feb. 24 -- [email protected]

Feni, the heritage liquor of Goa, could not be distilled. Opinion in the State, though, was divided on whether feni and urrak, the liquid after the first distillation, are food products or alcohol. The distillers had lost the main season at its peak.

"The pandemic did not just affect us, it crippled us. The lock down was imposed during the last cashew season and thus we lost an entire seasons earning from cashew distillation and cashew nut," Hansel Vaz, founder, Cazulo Premium Feni, Fazenda Cazulo said.

Agreeing with him, Gurudatta Bhakta, managing partner, Cazcar and president of Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers' Association said, "Last year we were almost dead. We were closed when the season began...