Ranchi Police Launch Awareness Drive Against Poppy Cultivation Amid Sowing Season

Ranchi: Even as the sowing season for poppy plants, used for making opium, has started, the police have begun an awareness drive on adverse impacts of cultivating the crop, including penal actions, in several districts of the state.The police are conducting meetings in rural areas including markets and public places and using local languages, posters and banners to convey their messages. Meanwhile, police have also intensified action against people who are accused of cultivating the crop last year. Ranchi SP (rural) Praveen Pushkar said, “The main focus of the awareness drive is the areas where crops were destroyed last year. We are also informing the villagers about alternative crops. Police are also gearing up to nab the people accused in cases registered during the last drive.”“We are informing people of the unfavourable effects on soil fertility and health due to poppy cultivation. The administration would also distribute seeds of alternative cash crops after ascertaining the needs of different localities,” Khunti deputy superintendent of police Varun Rajak said. He said district police are also issuing notices through ‘gram sabhas’ to the people on whose land opium crops were found last year adding it is also deterring locals from taking up cultivation again.Meanwhile, Seraikela-Kharsawan SP, Mukesh Kumar Lunayat, on Saturday held a meeting with heads of local bodies, including mankis and mundas and public representatives in Dalbhanga in the district on the issue. All villagers took pledge not to cultivate the crop again. Similar drive is being carried out in Chatra district, the SP said.