KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Feb 24: Police destroyed poppy plants grown up over an extensive area of eight acres of forest land at Reyarda village under Chowka thana area in the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Thursday.
Reyarda is one such place which has still Naxals’ influence and remains away from the constant radar of the police.
Illegal poppy cultivation is increasingly getting a menace in Kolhan, especially in Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum districts. The cultivation is considered to be more profitable than growing paddy crops and hence a section of villagers having a criminal bent of mind tend to get indulged themselves in producing poppies on forest land, especially in the areas having Naxals’ influence.
Earlier, the police had destroyed poppy plants grown over a total area of 41 acres in different places falling under Chowka and adjoining Kandra thana areas during the past month.
Those engaged in the cultivation of poppy plants use to produce opium by processing it at their houses. An intoxicating stuff known as Doda and another substance called Postu are produced as byproducts during the extraction of opium from the poppy plants.
OC, Chowka thana, Dharmraj Kumar said they have destroyed poppy plants grown over about 50 acres of land, but succeeded to arrest only three persons involved in the illegal activities.
“We have succeeded to seize two kgs of opium which are sold mainly to the truck drivers by the poppy growers. We have also seized Doda numerous times during the raids on the NH-33 along Chandil and Chowka, ” said Kumar while talking to lagatar24.com.
