Manipur records dip in poppy cultivation

Poppy cultivation in Manipur declines by 32.13%, leading to ethnic clashes and environmental degradation, despite anti-drug efforts.

GUWAHATI

Poppy cultivation in Manipur decreased by 32.13% during 2023-24 from the previous fiscal but the opium-yielding plant continues to be grown extensively in 12 of the State’s 16 districts, a report prepared by Manipur Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MARSAC) said.

Drug smuggling from adjoining Myanmar and large-scale poppy cultivation by clearing jungles on the hills are said to be among the factors behind the ongoing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo people in Manipur since May 3, 2023. The conflict has left more than 250 people dead and some 60,000 others displaced.

According to the MARSAC report, the Manipur police and other law enforcement agencies destroyed illegal poppy cultivation on 19,135.6 acres across 12 districts between 2017 and January 2024. The Kangpokpi district topped the list with 4,454.4 acres of poppy plantations destroyed followed by Ukhrul district with 3,348 acres, and Churachandpur with 2,713.8 acres.

The other districts where illicit poppy fields were destroyed during the seven years include 2,575 acres in Tengnoupal, 1,982.5 acres in Chandel, 1,682 acres in Senapati, and 737.9 acres in Imphal East. Almost all the poppy-growing districts are hilly.

The operations against poppy cultivation were carried out mostly in 2020-21 and 2022-23, during which the flowering plants were destroyed on 8,957.1 acres.

The report said the area under poppy cultivation in nine districts declined from 28,598.91 acres in 2021-22 to 11,288.1 acres in 2023-24. These districts are Chandel, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul.