Destruction of illegal poppy fields intensified in Manipur

GUWAHATI

Security forces in Manipur have destroyed illegal poppy plants on 476 acres of land in Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts in five days of operation from November 11 to 15, officials said.

Poppy is grown in Manipur’s hills to produce opium, the control of trade of which was allegedly one of the reasons behind the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities that broke out in the State on May 3, 2023.

An official statement said that on November 15, a joint team of Manipur Police, Assam Rifles, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) razed approximately 20 acres of illicit poppy fields at Loibol Khullen village in Kangpokpi district.

During the operation, two sacks of salt packets used in the cultivation process were seized. Equipment, including spray pumps, pipes, herbicides and other materials found at the site, was destroyed and burnt on the spot.

Poppy fields and sheds of cultivators were destroyed during an intensified crackdown in Manipur.
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Special Arrangement

“In a parallel action on the same day, another combined team of Manipur Police, CRPF personnel and Forest Department officials conducted a poppy eradication drive at the hill ranges of Kotlen village, also in Kangpokpi district,” the statement read.

The team reported the destruction of another 20 acres of illegal poppy cultivation. As part of the operation, five makeshift huts were burnt down, while three bags of fertilisers, two bottles of herbicide, and two bags of salt were seized and destroyed.

The most extensive crackdown occurred in the adjoining Ukhrul district, where security forces coordinated with multiple government agencies from November 11 to 15. In the hill ranges of Somdal, Lamlai Chingfei, and Litan villages, the teams destroyed 436 acres of poppy plantation.

Officials said the destruction of illegal poppy fields has been intensified in the State. More crackdowns are likely in the next few days, they said.