The Prohibition and Excise Department, in association with the District Police and other departments such as Revenue, Horticulture and Forest. will be embarking on a holistic mission with the aim of destroying ganja (cannabis) fields in the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari from Tuesday.
This is in continuation of the two pilot projects that we had undertaken in the month of September and in the first week of October, said Commissioner of Excise P. Lakshmi Narasimham.
Addressing the media here on Monday, he said, “The Special Task Force, will be targeting about 158 villages in the nine Agency mandals in Visakhapatnam and two in East Godavari district,” he said.
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In the pilot projects held earlier, the Excise Department had destroyed about 19 lakh ganja saplings spread over 360 acres in 37 villages in Visakhapatnam Agency.
The Excise Department has taken up the destruction of ganja crop after the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam district has gained notoriety of being one among the biggest cultivation ground in the country.
The ‘Sheelavathi’ variety of the ganja is one among the top qualities available today in the market and its demand is not only pan India but also has spread to the international markets, said Director of Excise Venkateswara Rao.
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Almost all the 11 mandals in Visakhapatnam Agency is prone to cultivation, and the adivasis are funded by smugglers from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is a well-oiled machinery and to curb the menace we need to attack the cultivation point, said Mr. Narasimham.
The drive will be for about a month and it will be continued thereafter, based on the success of the project, said the Excise officials.
Carrot and stick approach
The Excise officials will not only destroy the crop but will also create awareness among the tribal persons. “We will tell them about the NDPS Act and the punishment under its various sections and also give them the options of taking up other cash crops. We will also educate them about the various government schemes and help them in availing them. Based on their positive response we will allot them the pattas,” said Mr. Venkateswara Rao. Each team will comprise about 30 officials from Excise, Police and other departments and about 50 to 60 workers who will be engaged in cutting and destroying of the plants.
Satellite images
Apart from using satellite images to map the cultivation areas, drones will be used to locate the specific areas. The Commissioner of Excise did not rule out the use of drones for spraying chemicals to kill the plants. “We are weighing the option. But we need to seek expert opinion to see that human being will be not be affected due to chemical spray and it will not have an adverse affect on the land,” said Mr. Narasimham. A bulk of the cultivation area is in the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) area, where the Maoist have considerable presence. For the first time we will be entering the AOB region with the help of the security forces, said Mr. Venkateswara Rao.