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HomePoliticsArunachal destroys 1,000 hectares of opium fields, targets areas held by militants

Arunachal destroys 1,000 hectares of opium fields, targets areas held by militants

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Biggest crackdown by the state so far; police and excise department teams aim to destroy 1,500 hectares of opium cultivation in the next few days.

New Delhi: Arunachal Pradesh, one of India’s top illicit opium producing states, has launched what is seen as its biggest anti-narcotic drive, with officials even venturing into areas “protected” by armed outfits like the NSCN to destroy several thousand hectares of cultivation.

The crackdown — being launched in coordination with the excise department and the state police — has already resulted in the destruction of 1,000 hectares of opium fields, with officials looking at increasing this to 1,500 hectares in the next two days.

Drug abuse has grown to epidemic levels in several Arunachal districts, with the cultivation of opium also linked to the gun trade and running of extortion rackets that some insurgent groups have morphed into.

“This is the biggest attempt by us to destroy opium cultivation. We had warned the villagers not to indulge in this,” Oli Koyu, Arunachal’s Narcotics Cell nodal officer, told ThePrint.

“We are looking to destroy more than 1,500 hectares of the growth by the end of this drive,” the official added.

Graphic by Siddhant Gupta

The drive is also being carried out in the districts of Tirap and Changlang, dominated by armed insurgent groups which often protect the growth and trade of narcotics. Anirudh Singh, the state excise commissioner, is coordinating the operations.

Since last year, Arunachal has initiated several projects to curb drug abuse and opium cultivation, which has especially impacted districts located on the borders with China and Myanmar. The state government has even initiated a pilot project to promote the growth of medicinal plants to give local farmers alternative livelihood options.

The pilot project has estimated that farmers who can earn Rs 1 lakh per hectare by growing opium can replace it with medicinal plants that would take slightly longer to grow. The urgency to crack down on cultivation was felt after startling data in recent years has shown rampant drug abuse problems.

State government data shows that 74 per cent of Lohit district villagers indulge in drug abuse. It also shows that 98 per cent of all Anjaw villages engage in some form of opium production.

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