Can’t grow cannabis legally, Malana now seeks jobs, education

MALANA (KULLU): Malana, famous for its high quality hashish and as a hub of narco-tourism, has resigned itself to a long wait for government approval of their long-pending demand to legalise cannabis cultivation.
Voters in the isolated Himachal Pradesh village of some 2,500 people have instead started demanding job opportunities, education, medical and transportation facilities from political parties canvassing for their support in the assembly elections.
The BJP has mentioned setting up of a drug control bureau in its vision document and making tehsildars, patwaris and forest officials accountable for illegal cultivation of cannabis, but the Congress so far has remained vague on the issue.
“Every time during elections, the issue of legalising cannabis cultivation would be raised and other concerns of the villagers would be sidelined. We are not giving up on the demand yet, but whichever party forms the government, should at least provide job avenues and basic facilities like health, education and transport for the village,” complains village pradhan Bhagi Chand.
The village has around 200 youth who have passed out from schools and colleges and can be accommodated in different jobs. However, Bhagi Chand explains there is no government initiative to provide job to aspirants from the village, especially given its constraints.
There is no health centre in the Parvati Valley village that has a primary and a high school where more than 450 students study, but there is shortage of at least six teachers. The high school only has facilities to teach up to class X.
This has forced many villagers to get their children admission in schools in Kullu town or Bhuntar and they have rented temporary accommodation to live with their children as they study in these schools.
Also, the approach to the village is tough and involves a trek of about 4km from the nearest motorable road. Villagers rue there is only one bus that comes only once at the bus stop — the last point of motorable road.
“There should be at least one more bus so that kids who want to study after 10th are able to commute daily to the schools in the nearby places,” says Jagdish Kumar, another Malana resident.
Some villagers resent that the governments in the past have remained apathetic to their means of livelihood and have keen to destroy cannabis crop, without doing anything to create alternate source of income for them.
On the other hand, officials maintain whenever initiatives were taken to bring development to the isolated village, its residents had opposed the move fearing accessibility would mean more strict vigilance and strict action against cannabis farmers.
“It suits some villagers to remain isolated as they know drug cultivation and illegal activities can be done smoothly from remote and isolated areas. There have been instances where some village representatives have opposed construction of roads and other developmental activities in the area," claimed a senior official.
Experts, meanwhile, say that legalising cannabis cultivation would require thorough homework and knowledge of logistics for a village like Malana.
“The NDPS Act 1985 does not prevent the government from legalising cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes. But before making such move, a lot of factors need to be considered. In fact, cannabis cultivation can be legalised only to the extent that it's used for industrial and medicinal purposes,” says O P Sharma, former superintendent of narcotics bureau, who is also Himachal BJP executive cell member.
Chandigarh NCB zonal director Kaushtubh Sharma said the locals find cultivation of cannabis too lucrative and therefore oppose development or farming of any alternative crops.