Poppy plantations in the hills
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 04, 2024 -

REPORTS of various law enforcing agencies, including Manipur Police, destroying 19,135.60 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in the state's 12 districts between 2017 and 2024, testify that preventing drug abuse and smuggling remains one the toughest challenges for the state government.

Irrespective of the present regime's 'war on drugs' campaign, under which security agencies in collaboration with youth volunteers, carried out drives to scythe poppy plantations, survey report of the Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC) specifying that the largest areas of 4,454.4 acres of illegal poppy cultivation were destroyed in the last seven years (2017-2024) in Kangpokpi district leaves nothing to doubt that the government cannot rest assured by simply launching campaigns but shall have to galvanise all available resources to tackle the problem at the ground level and initiate stringent punitive measures, including ceasing benefits of government schemes, against villages within whose jurisdiction poppies are found planted.

Kangpokpi district topping the chart in terms of areas under poppy plantations also rings out the message that response to the anti-drug campaign by the district administration is not up to the mark.

Similarly, authorities of the law enforcement agencies owe an explanation for Ukhrul district accounting for 3,348 acres of poppy planation and Churachandpur district having 2,713.8 acres of poppy field under its jurisdictional areas. As per the report of MARSAC, which is an autonomous government institution under the Planning Department, Manipur, other districts where illicit poppy farming areas were destroyed during this period include 2,575 acres in Tengnoupal, 1,982.5 acres in Chandel, 1,682 acres in Senapati and 737.9 acres in Imphal East districts.

Detection of poppy cultivation in the hill ranges, regardless of the government's poppy destruction drives under the 'war on drugs' campaign, definitely merits proactive involvement of the local population.

With 12 districts out of the state's 16 being mostly mountainous, security forces alone cannot be expected to successfully carry out the task of destroying poppy plantations.

Moreover, recent incident of automatic weapon-wielding poppy planters threatening a combined team of police and village volunteers of Makhan and forcing the latter to retreat from a poppy cultivation area under Kangpokpi district could be construed as armed organisations either providing protection to poppy cultivators or their direct involvement in the same.

As Manipur has been regularly figuring among the top states in terms of use of narcotic drugs and other addictive substances, coupled with the continuous widespread plantations of poppy causing serious damage to the forest environment, such a socio-economic menace merits effective preventive measures by the government rather than sympathising with poppy cultivators and inducing them to abandon the evil practice with assurance of alternative means of livelihood.

The time for appeasing the poppy planters is passe. As some of villages where poppies were found growing are the same whose chiefs and residents had pledged to give up the practice and had even availed institutional assistance to cultivate legitimate cash and food crops, all sane persons as well as concerned stakeholders would be wishing that the government authorities translate into action assurance given to the people to make Manipur drug-free.

In short, punishment of the offenders should be accorded importance by the government as its policy of providing alternative means of livelihood to poppy growers seems to be of no use as could be inferred from the survey report of MARSAC.