Govt. chalks out new strategy to tackle illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur

Imphal: After meeting with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently in the national capital, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Thursday chaired a meeting at his Secretariat and deliberated on the measures and renewed strategies to tackle illegal poppy cultivation in Manipur.

The government's all-out war against illegal poppy cultivation is one of the root causes of the ongoing violence in this sensitive border state.

The meeting was joined by the Chief Secretary, Manipur Police Department, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Narcotic Affairs and Borders (NAB), Forest Department, Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC), and Forensic Science.

In his X post, Manipur CM said, “The state government’s unwavering commitment to completely uproot the drugs menace and curb poppy plantation remains firm.”

Since the inception of the BJP-led government in 2017 under the leadership of the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, poppy plantations which spread over 16,577.368 acres of land, particularly in the hill areas have been destroyed as part of the state government’s ‘War on Drug’ campaign, official reports said on Thursday.

As per a report of Narcotic Affairs and Borders (NAB) Manipur, poppy plantations spread over 16,577.368 acres of land in 12 out of 16 districts of the state except Imphal West, Jiribam, Thoubal, and Pherzawl were decimated between January 1, 2017 to December 30, 2023.

The report further mentions that poppy plantations that spread over 2,583.6 acres in different parts of the state were destroyed between January and March 2023.

Moreover, 426 acres of poppy plantations in the districts of Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Senapati, and Kamjong were destroyed between November and December 30, 2023.