Sonamura, Dec 5 (TIWN):In the ongoing onslaught against the intensive ganja cultivations in Kalamchowra GP under Boxanagar RD Block of Sonamura Sub Division by organized and well-entrenched gangs of narcotics dealers, previous records of success are being surpassed almost every day due to the tenacity and sincerity of the efforts being invested jointly by the Administration and Security Agencies to weed out the roots of this menace from this Sub-Division.

On Friday, A huge 60-member strong contingent of BSF personnel and Sonamura Sub-Divisional Administration staff jointly carried out a destruction-operation of ganja-plantations under Kalamchowra Police Station. During the long, strenuous operation that lasted for about seven and half hours, a massive 1,50,000 ganja plants spread over 100 acre area were chopped down, the monetary value of which is estimated to be 35 crore rupees.  operation marked the biggest ever operation of its kind undertaken anywhere in the State in a single day. The ganja plants were raised in the areas surrounding the Vally, which is being developed now as a major place of tourist attraction with considerable investment of public-fund.

Unfortunately, the landscape surrounding this scenic lake is now dotted with ganja plantations, presenting a shameful spectacle to the tourists who now visit the place. The ganja plants destroyed today were of robust health, well-nurtured, and on the verge of being mature. Such kind of plantations requires a formidable amount of monetary resources to be invested in the form of input costs, including fertilizers, pesticides, and labor-wages. Reportedly, people earning fortunes from such plantations are actually hail from urban areas, enjoy substantial socio-economical clout, and they hire the services of local tribal people to tend to and guard their gardens. Even while the destruction operation was going on, several outsiders reached at the spot riding spanking new and expensive vehicles like Tata Sumo, Bolero, Swift, etc., to enquire about the destruction, which is a pointer to the complicity of well-heeled persons from outside the area in raising such illegal plantations. The sheer scale of the plantations was so huge that even after working for about 8 hours on end, the 60-member strong destruction-party could destroy only one third of the total plantations in that area.

According to an official source, a large number of villagers in Tripura cultivate ganja and smuggle it to Bangladesh through the porous international border to earn a fast buck. “There is a huge demand for ganja in Bangladesh, and Tripura plays a key role in meeting this demand,” he said