In a significant blow to illegal poppy cultivation, a combined team comprising security forces, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Forest Department carried out a major anti-narcotics operation over two days in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and destroyed about 67 acres of illegally-grown poppy cultivation. The joint operation, one of the larger anti-poppy drives in recent months, was conducted on December 5 and 6, official sources informed.
The poppy was illegally grown in fields spreading across the hill ranges of Makui Ashang, Laloi, Wakotphai, Chaljang and surrounding areas under Kangpokpi Police Station. During the operation, 38 huts used by cultivators were dismantled and substantial quantities of farming materials, including 44 bags of fertilisers, 43 bottles of Roundup herbicide, 26 bags of salt, along with spray pumps, pipes and other cultivation equipment, were seized.
All the items were destroyed at the site, according to a statement from Manipur Police. Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh lauded Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and the state government for their decisive action against illegal narcotics cultivation. Linking the operation to the central government’s broader ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ (Drug-Free India) campaign, Singh stated: “This initiative aligns with the honourable prime minister’s vision of a Nasha Mukt Bharat, and it is encouraging to see Manipur actively contributing to this national mission.” The former chief minister further called for continued operations across all vulnerable regions of the state to curb narcotics activities.
