Guwahati: Manipur CM N Biren Singh said the drive against drugs would continue and his government has set a target to destroy poppy plantations in the state within this month.
After a meeting with police and other agencies engaged in the government's "War on Drugs" campaign, Singh said in Imphal that the plantations have already been identified through satellite mapping and the destruction would resume.
Singh said that combined teams of Narcotics and Affairs of Border, Narcotics Control Bureau, State forces and forest department would destroy the poppy plantations by the end of this month.
The announcement assumes significance as a similar drive against poppy plantations last year is considered as one of the triggers of the violence involving the majority Meitei and the Kuki communities that started in May 2023.
More than 200 people have died and over 60,000 others have been displaced and sporadic incidents of violence have not yet stopped in the northeastern state.
Meitei groups claim that Kukis are involved in mass plantation of poppy on the hills, destroying the forests and ecology, and carrying out drug trafficking with the help of Myanmar-based drug lords. Kuki organisations countered such a claim saying that Meiteis are also involved in drug trafficking. The fresh drive is in line with the demand by Meitei organisations.
Although the government's drive slowed down due to the violence, the CM said the Manipur government has not stopped its work of destroying poppy plantations, and added that areas of poppy plantation have decreased a lot.
Singh said that the Centre's decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime agreement with Myanmar and to fence the 1,643-km border would help check drug trafficking and illegal migration from across the border.
Published 09 February 2024, 19:14 IST