Ganja plantations worth Rs 20 crore destroyed in Kandhamal

Kandhamal: A joint team of police and excise officials destroyed hemp plantations worth Rs 20 crores in Kandhamal district, police said on Saturday.

As part of the administration's efforts to check illegal cultivation of cannabis, the crackdown was launched by the joint squad for nearly three days in the district.

Plantations in nearly 142 acres of land under Guchapada police limits were destroyed on Thursday while standing crop in nearly 85 acres in several parts of Phiringia police limits was destroyed yesterday.

The raids are part of the strategy designed by the government to curb the cultivation of ganja that is rampant in the district.

Senior officials informed that out of the 30 districts in Odisha, eight Maoist-hit districts - Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Boudh - are the pockets where illegal cannabis cultivation is rampant.

Left-Wing Extremists (LEW) and traders from other parts of the country are encouraging such illegal activities in the forested areas of the state by engaging locals.