Will 2025 see an end to ganja menace in undivided Visakhapatnam district?

Intensified police efforts in Visakhapatnam to curb drug abuse, with a new task force and focus on alternative livelihoods.

/VISAKHAPATNAM

The efforts of police in curbing the menace of drug abuse in Visakhapatnam district in the year 2024 have been significantly intensified, especially since the formation of the new government in the State, which initiated a 100-day action plan to curb ganja smuggling and cultivation, yielding good results.

The year 2025, however, is expected to have a transformative impact on ganja smuggling with the launch of Elite Anti-narcotics Group for Law Enforcement (EAGLE) an anti-drug task force in the district with an exclusive sub-office.

Since the undivided Visakhapatnam district and Alluri Sitharama Raju district, in particular, have been the focal points for ganja smugglers, the State government seems to have decided to lay special focus on curbing the menace in this region.

The ASR district police, led by Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar, have devised a comprehensive strategy to tackle the long-standing challenges of ganja cultivation and trafficking since June 12, 2024.

This plan included surveys across 258 villages, covering approximately 9,200 acres, supported by drone surveillance in 195 remote villages across 7,500 acres. These operations have led to the identification and destruction of 43.45 acres of ganja plantations in 81 locations across 22 villages.

This year, the ASR district police have also registered 172 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and arrested 507 persons from whom around 15,000 kg of ganja and 3 kg of hash oil were seized.