Ganja smuggling continues despite strict vigil in agency

Visakhapatnam: Ganja smuggling is continuing in the agency's tracts of ASR district despite vigil from the special enforcement bureau and special police. In the last one week, in three incidents, over 2,500kg dry ganja and a country-made pistol were seized from the smugglers based out of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

Despite seizures and arrests almost every day, the trade is booming. Officials say much of the ganja was being sourced from Malkangiri district of Odisha and that the tribal farmers of AP have stopped ganja-growing due to fear of raids.

“For strategic reasons, the smugglers are carrying the weed from agency areas of Odisha but using Andhra roads till Rajahmundry from where they disburse to various directions,’’ said ASR district SP, Satish Kumar.

The SP told Deccan Chronicle that following directions from chief minister Jagan Reddy, SEB personnel destroyed the ganja crop on more than 7,500 acres between December last and February this year.

The ganja is grown in over 12,000 acres in the AP region. The remaining 5,000 acres was left out of operations due to security reasons, the SP said.

Activists from GK Veedhi and Chintapalli, Rajababu and Simhachalam, said farmers in the border areas are still growing the weed due to encouragement to them by the smugglers. The smugglers from Tamil Nadu were luring the tribal farmers with high incentives for resumption of ganja cultivation.

The smugglers used to pay `2 lakh per acre for a six month crop. Now, they have increased this by another lakh, the activists said.

Other sources said ganja grown in this part is in high demand due to the presence of THC in the weed.

The SP said the police also got information that the smugglers were making huge offers to the tribals to resume the cultivation of ganja. The SEB is closely watching such elements from outside and action would be initiated against them, he said.

The SP said under Parivarthana, the police also launched distribution of vegetable seeds and saplings of Silver Oak and Eucalyptus to the villagers with a view to weaning them away from the ganja cultivation. The response has been good.

“This is a three-decade-old problem. We just began controlling it. It will take some time,’’ police said.