After Manipur, Assam destroys poppy plantations

The Goalpara district police destroyed the opium-producing plant worth ₹27.2 crore across 56 acres on a Brahmaputra sandbar

GUWAHATI

After Manipur, Assam has begun destroying poppy plantations.

On Sunday, the police in western Assam’s Goalpara district used tractors to destroy poppy plants on more than 56 acres of a sandbar in the Brahmaputra River. The destroyed crop of the opium-producing plant was worth ₹27.20 crore.

People living on some sandbars or ‘chars’, which are usually difficult to reach, have been known to grow cannabis. Officials said this was one of the first instances that poppy cultivation was reported from sandbars.

Taking to social media platform X, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma equated the local poppy cultivators with Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord who was killed in 1993.

“Dear Local Pablo Escobars, sorry to spoil your planned Udta Assam party! Because @Goalpara_Police destroyed 170 Bighas of poppy cultivation in the Char (sandbar) areas worth ₹27.20 crore in January. So next time you think of drugs, think of @assampolice first,” he wrote.

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh was quick to respond to the post.

“My deep appreciation for the decisive measures taken in Assam, under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri @himantabiswa ji, in addressing the challenges posed by the cultivation of poppy,” he wrote. “We stand together and remain resolute in our shared goal of building a future where every northeast youth is protected, nurtured, and allowed to thrive free from the shadow of drugs,” Mr. Singh added.

Manipur, among the northeastern States worst affected by the drug problem, launched the “war on drugs” in 2018. The anti-drug drive that entailed burning acres of cannabis and poppy plantations was said to be one of the factors behind the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities since May 2023.

One such operation carried out jointly by personnel of the Manipur Police and the Central Reserve Police Force in the Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district’s Lhungjang village on Friday met with resistance.

A large mob, armed with sticks, attacked three police vehicles and asked the personnel to stop the drive. Normalcy was restored after the arrival of a reinforcement team led by the district’s Superintendent of Police. “Illegal poppy cultivations on around 45 acres of land were destroyed,” a district official said.

The government issued a statement on Saturday evening condemning the mob violence. The statement said a First Information Report (FIR) had been filed to probe the incident.

Published - February 02, 2025 06:14 pm IST