Poppy crops destroyed in Himachal

SHIMLA: The customs department has begun investigations to track down the culprits, including members of drug mafias, who may have persuaded poor villagers of Chauhar Valley in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh to take to the illegal cultivation of poppy.
Superintendent of Customs, K N Bharadwaj, said that initial enquiries had revealed that middlemen from outside the state had lured the villagers in to cultivating poppy."This was done by paying them more than what they would have got for wheat and vegetable crops," he added.
He said that in some fields the poppy bulbs were ripe and had been lanced (longitudinal cuts had been made on the bulbs from which a milky white fluid would ooze out. This blackens into opium overnight). The lancing had also been done by professionals from outside the state, who are paid Rs 200 per day.
Bharadwaj said that outsiders were also teaching locals the art of lancing.
However, the fields with pink, white and red poppy flowers were also a visual treat, he added.
The customs Superintendent said that the villagers were upset when the team destroyed the poppy crop in their fields, as now they would be left with no source of income for the coming year.
"The villagers wanted to know whether the cultivation of poppy could be legalised," he added.
He said that standing crops in about 1757 bighas of land were destroyed. Each bigha of land produces about two kg of opium and the cultivator gets about Rs 5000/kg, which is far more than what he would make from any other crop.
Bharadwaj said that the crop was destroyed in Tindunala, Tikkan, Dharmed, Dharmed Gallu, Thaltukhud, Silbadhani, Karsed, Kungad, Suad, Graman, Tikkar, Kampana, Kased, Bhulang, Ghatian, Briyan, Jhallan, Taresn, Bajgan, Shamli, Mulin, Singhdhar, Bhandag, Ahlong, Kshamti, Markhan, Karsiyan, Sahun, Khundra, Deodhar and Korteng villages.