Sit-in demonstration staged in support of War on Drugs
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 27 2023:
Former AMADA (All Manipur Anti-Drug Association) members and Kanglei People Against Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (KANGLEI PANAS) jointly staged a "sit-in-support" of War on Drugs campaign at Keishampat Leimajam Leikai community hall today.
Speaking by the sideline of the sit-in demonstration Wahaj Fundrei, secretary general, KANGLEI PANAS Head Office, stated that the sit-in support was organised with the goal of promoting the State Government's laudable effort 'War on Drugs' to cull the widespread abuse of drugs in the State.
He also appealed to the people to step into the field and support War on Drugs instead of merely debating about it.
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Wahaj also called for the enactment of a Poppy Eradication Force with the participation of CSOs that will destroy as well as re-cultivate the barren areas which were formerly poppy plantations.
He also urged CSOs of the State to lend their support to the Government's War on Drugs campaign and added that similar sit-in support demonstrations will be organised in other areas.
Further, he enumerated some of the exploits of AMADA in combating poppy cultivation and claimed that from the early part of 2009 until 2014, AMADA members in collaboration with Central Force had destroyed roughly 750 acres of poppy plantations at Nongmaijing Ching, Thawai Mapithel and Singngat (Churachandpur) among others.
He also alleged that the market value of the total amount of poppy destroyed was around Rs 50 crores at the time.
"If the State Government of that time had made concerted efforts to address the issue of poppy cultivation, then the problem would not have exacerbated to this extent", he opined.
The participants of the sit-in raised many slogans in support of the War on Drugs campaign.