Security forces destroy 35 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur

Imphal, Jan 24 Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Friday said that a combined team of police, CRPF and forest officials jointly destroyed 35 acres of illegal poppy cultivation at Lhungjang village in Kangpokpi district.

The Chief Minister, in a post on X, said: “I commend the Kangpokpi Police, 133 Bn CRPF, Forest Department, and the Executive Magistrate for their coordinated and resolute efforts in conducting the destruction drive of illegal poppy cultivation at Lhungjang village under Saikul Police Station.”

“The destruction of approximately 35 acres of illegal poppy cultivation is a significant step toward our shared vision of a drug-free Manipur. I urge all stakeholders and citizens to join hands in this fight against drug-related activities and illegal practices,” he said.

Biren Singh, who holds the Home portfolio, earlier said that as part of the government’s “war against drugs”, Manipur Police along with paramilitary and other security forces have regularly been destroying illegal poppy cultivation, mostly in the hilly areas.

Meanwhile, according to a government report, various law enforcement agencies, including Manipur Police, have destroyed 19,135.60 acres of illegal poppy cultivation in the state’s 12 districts between 2017 and 2024.

The report, prepared by Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC), in the mountainous Kangpokpi district, the highest areas of 4,454.4 acres of illegal poppy cultivation were destroyed in the last seven years (2017-2024), followed by 3,348 acres in Ukhrul and 2,713.8 acres in Churachandpur.

The MARSAC is an autonomous government institution under the Planning Department of the Manipur government.

The report said that deforestation, due to mass poppy cultivation, resulted in several adverse impacts on the ecosystem, including soil erosion, a loss of biodiversity, and changes in the local climate, the report said.

The Manipur government on several occasions said that the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur (since May 2023) is a creation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar adding that these migrants after illegally settling in the state started the cultivation of illicit poppies.

Source: IANS