Poppy suspicion on yellow patch
By Khelen Thokchom
Imphal, June 24: Patches of yellow detected in satellite images by the Narcotic Control Bureau a few months ago have raised suspicion of poppy cultivation in Manipur’s five hill districts.
The images have prompted the Okram Ibobi Singh government to direct district authorities to carry out spot verifications to confirm if the yellow patches are indeed poppy farms.
An official source here said satellite images taken recently by the bureau in New Delhi detected at least 54 yellow patches suspected to be poppy farms in Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel and Churachandpur districts.
According to the pictures made available to the state government by the bureau, there were 10 yellow patches in Churachandpur, 12 in Chandel district, two in Tamenglong district, 14 in Senapati and seven in Ukhrul district.
The Narcotic Control Bureau strongly “felt” that the yellow patches could be poppy plants.
Though these patches could also be either sunflower or mustard fields, officials in the state government also suspected that these could be poppy.
Helped by security forces officials of the Narcotics and Affairs of Border, a unit of the Manipur police, the Narcotic Control Bureau and volunteers of the All Manipur Anti-Drug Association destroyed a large number of poppy plants in Ukhrul and Chandel districts in February and March.
In 2007 alone, the bureau destroyed crores of poppy plants in Ukhrul and Chandel districts.
Sources in the bureau said poppy products went to the Golden Triangle, the world’s major heroin manufacturing area, through the porous 365-km Manipur-Myanmar border. According to the bureau, Manipur has a poppy growing area of 850 acres in the hill districts.
It said three drug cartels were operating in India’s eastern region.
Manipur chief secretary D.S. Poonia on Tuesday presided over a meeting of the apex level Multi-Disciplinary Coordination Committee to discuss about the satellite photos provided by the bureau and chalk out strategies to destroy poppy and cannabis plants.
After the meeting, Poonia instructed all the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to carry out spot verifications and submit reports to the apex level body.
The chief secretary also requested the army and the Assam Rifles and officials of the state forest department to extend help for the verifications.
Reports said the poppy plants were cultivated in interior areas of the hills which are inaccessible and no central or state forces were present.
To deal with the menace of poppy and ganja cultivation and also drug trafficking, the meeting also constituted a task force called Anti-narcotics Task Force with the state IGP (Intelligence), L.M. Khaute, as the chairman.
Sources said the spot verification was likely to be carried out during winter as poppy was cultivated during the cold season in Manipur.
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