Guwahati: The law enforcement agencies, while carrying out different drives, have destroyed a total of 31 hectares of illegal poppy fields in Manipur’s Ukhrul district in 48 hours. This was informed by Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on the microblogging site X, formerly Twitter.
The Chief Minister said that during these drives, besides burning down as many as 45 huts in the illegal poppy fields, a joint team of the Manipur police, state forest department and personnel of the Manipur Rifles (MR), have also destroyed other infrastructures including pipeline connections, fertilizers, salt, herbicides, and pesticides among others.
“A joint force of Police, Forest & MR carried out a Poppy destruction drive at Tora Champhung Hill Range under Ukhrul district. 16 hectares of illicit poppy fields were destroyed, 20 huts burned, and other infrastructures such as pipeline connection, fertilizers, salt, herbicides, pesticides etc. were destroyed as well,” CM Singh said in a post on X.
“Meanwhile, on the 2nd day of joint poppy destruction drive by Police, Forest & MR at Phalee-Tora-Champhung Hill range in Ukhrul District, 25 huts were burned and 15 hectares of poppy plantation also destroyed,” Chief Minister Singh added.
Chief Minister Singh said that the Manipur government is intensifying its “War on Drugs” and will not stop until the drugs menace is completely rooted out from the state.
While sharing a video clip of the law enforcement agencies destroying an illegal poppy field, Chief Minister Singh said that the destruction drive will continue in the state in the coming days till the illegal practice is completely wiped out.
“This is the video clip of poppy destruction on 14th and 15th November 2023 in Phalee-Champhung-Changta-Tora hill ranges by spraying herbicides. I appreciate the update on the joint efforts to combat illegal poppy cultivation in Phalee-Champhung-Changta-Tora hill ranges by Ukhrul police, 6MR, and the Forest department. The commitment to continuing the destruction drive until the illegal practices are eradicated reflects a strong stance against such activities,” Chief Minister Singh said in another post on X.
In August this year, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, told the Rajya Sabha, that 21,303 acres of opium poppy fields have been destroyed in Manipur between 2018 and May 2023. While 3,861 acres of opium poppy fields were destroyed in 2018, 4,175 acres were destroyed in 2019, 1,382 acres in 2020, 5,740 acres in 2021, 3696 acres in 2022, and 2,449 acres till May 2023.
Minister Rai said that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) shares satellite imagery regarding illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy cultivation with the Manipur police and also participates in the destruction.
Minister Rai shared this information with the Upper House while answering a question on whether there is a nexus between narcotics trade and terrorist activities in Manipur and whether it is one of the factors fueling the present state of affairs in the strife-torn state.