TV
In a significant crackdown against illegal ganja cultivation, a joint team of the Excise department and police destroyed acres of ganja (cannabis) crops worth more than Rs 17 crore in Gajapati district.
According to sources, a joint team of police and the Excise department landed on cannabis cultivation areas inside the forests of Gajapati district. Targeting approximately 87 acres of land, the operation took place in the Raipanka panchayat region under Adaba police station limits.
Vast swathes of land were cleared of cannabis in the drive that also covered adjoining areas including Kaliamma, Ganjeipadar, and Garada village forests after over 200 personnel participated in cutting down and destroying the crops, sources added.
ALSO READ: Police catch ganja mafias after hot pursuit in Rairakhole, seize 57 kg cannabis
The clearing mission came as a part of the Odisha government’s ‘Green Clean Mission’ campaign that aims to eliminate cannabis cultivation in the state by 2026.
The drive in Gajapati came close after a joint state task force destroyed more than 10 acres of cannabis land in the Digapahandi area of Ganjam district about a week ago.
Incidentally, at about the same time, 62 acres of forest land in Subarnapur district were also wiped clean off cannabis crops.
While the latest numbers have not been made available yet, reports from last week stated that over 3,500 kilograms of cannabis were seized, 80 individuals were arrested, Rs 15 lakh cash, and over 20 vehicles used in the illegal trade were confiscated in separate drives of the ‘Green Clean Mission’.
ALSO READ: Highly educated but drug peddlers! Commissionerate Police arrests 2 women, seizes brown sugar
Officials also stated that the campaign will be intensified further to detect and eradicate cannabis cultivation from further areas in the coming days.
