Kangpokpi sets poppy deadline as 45 acres destroyed on Thangjing range

The Kangpokpi district administration in Manipur has ordered security forces and government departments to wipe out illegal poppy cultivation in the district before the crop reaches the flowering stage, while a joint team in neighbouring Churachandpur district destroyed about 45 acres of poppy on the Thangjing Hill Range, Northeast Now reported on Sunday.

Deadline for eradication

Hemant Kumar, who heads the Kangpokpi district administration and chairs the district Narcotics Coordination Centre (NCORD), directed agencies to complete eradication within a fixed timeframe and in line with Election Commission of India guidelines, as the state heads towards elections.

Police and Sub-Divisional Officers have been told to act within two weeks against fertiliser dealers found to be helping illegal cultivation. The Chief Medical Officer has been asked to deploy a Drug Inspector to check local chemical shops, including whether they have installed the CCTV systems they are required to have. That audit is to be completed by the end of the month.

Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta said the mapping and identification of poppy-growing areas in the district had been completed, and that joint operations with the Forest Department, central forces and civil society groups were under way. Residents and officials have been asked to pass on information about illegal activity to Police Headquarters or their local Officer-in-Charge.

45 acres cut down on Thangjing range

In a separate operation, a joint team destroyed around 45 acres of poppy plantations along the Thangjing Hill Range. The team was drawn from the Churachandpur District Police, the 1st India Reserve Battalion, the 58th Battalion of the CRPF, Manipur's Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB) wing and the Forest Department.

No one was found at the site. An Executive Magistrate supervised the destruction, and the chief of Lhangnom village was later summoned over lapses in oversight of the area under his jurisdiction, according to the report.

Why it matters

Illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur's hill districts is closely tied to the drug trade along the India-Myanmar border, and the state government has for several years run a campaign to destroy plantations and offer farmers other livelihoods. Cutting the crop before it flowers stops opium from being harvested from that season's plants.