Opium cultivation destroyed in Arunachal district

ITANAGAR, March 11: Close to the harvesting season of opium, the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), New Delhi and the Lohit district administration have destroyed 110 hectares of illegal opium cultivation in Shivajinagar and Panbari ares till yesterday.

The team was led by officials from the NCP destroyed the cultivation since February 6 last, an official communique informed here today.

“Fifteen acres of illegal opium were damaged in Panbari. On Saturday, when the team comprising labourers and tractors was heading for Tafragam, some aggressive women and their siblings intercepted them and blocked the road with logs and by felling trees. The CO on duty informed the situation to the DC and the SP, and sought deployment of police personnel, the communique said.

The aggrieved women also pelted stones at the team but no one was hurt. However, the vehicle of the Circle Officer was damaged, the communique added.

NCB teams come to this pocket of Lohit district every year during this season to damage opium cultivation. Opium is illegally cultivated right from 32 Mile area to Lohitpur, on the sides of the road to Demwe and Tafragam, besides in kitchen gardens of the local residents.

“The villagers are ignorant about its implications on health. The craze for earning money in a short time without much labour is the prime reason for its widespread cultivation,” the CO said.

The government is making available a flood of special economic packages as alternatives to opium cultivation, the communique added.

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