Poppy in five acres of fields destroyed as Manipur resumes drive

Poppy plants grown in around five acres of field destroyed as security forces in restive Manipur resumed the drive against illegal poppy cultivation.
The police said that the security forces destroyed poppy plants cultivated in around five acres in Songlung village and its adjacent area of Lhangjol and Waphong villages under Kangchup police station in Kangpokpi district on Saturday.
Eight empty cartridges, three fertilizer bags, and poppy seeds, found near three burnt huts at the site of the poppy cultivation were seized, it added.
Notably, the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), an armed outfit under ceasefire truce with the government, recently claimed that its cadres razed multiple poppy fields, huts and vehicles in the Waphong area of Kangpokpi district on November 2.
The armed group, in a statement on November 7 alleged that despite repeated warnings from the front, the illegal cultivators continued their activities.
In a final warning, the ZUF cautioned that anyone found in or around drug cultivation sites “will not be spared.”
The front further stated that it has intensified its defensive campaign to safeguard the ancestral land of the Zeliangrong and Inpui people from Kuki illegal immigrants engaged in poppy cultivation.
The front said it carried out its second wave of operation on November 7, around 1 pm, burning several poppy farms and farmhouses in the ongoing fight against the drug menace.
The outfit, however, didn’t share the locations where the poppy farms were destroyed.
Manipur is conducting an extensive and ongoing “War on Drugs” drive against illegal poppy cultivation, involving joint operations by police, paramilitary forces, forest department, and district administration.
Destruction drives are carried out regularly across various hill districts, including Kangpokpi, Senapati, Ukhrul and Kamjong.
Operations often involve large teams, sometimes over a hundred personnel, using methods such as grass cutters, sticks and herbicides to destroy the illicit crops.
The authorities intensified its campaign by employing drone surveillance and remote sensing/GIS technology to identify and map poppy fields, particularly in remote forest areas.
Official reports indicated a substantial reduction in the area under poppy cultivation, from approximately 28,599 acres in 2021-22 to 11,288 acres in 2023-24.
The government links the issue of poppy cultivation and associated drug trafficking to broader concerns like illegal immigration and environmental degradation (deforestation).