MALKANGIRI: It is no secret in Malkangiri’s Swabhiman Anchal that farmers are being lured by middlemen to cultivate ganja and make easy money. And there are many instances where youth and children of farmer families are addicted to it.
To curb the menace, a group of local youths from different backgrounds and professions has come together to create a video urging farmers and children to stay away from ganja.
Balaraju Pawan, Bhabani Digal, Ranjeet Patra and Bhakti Ranjan Sahoo, all in their 20s, of Malkangiri town have created the 12-minute video ‘Sabuja Jahara’ (Green Poison) which was recently uploaded on Malkangiri SP’s official Twitter account and on a YouTube channel.
Balaraju is employed in an MNC in Hyderabad and is currently working from home. Being
Bhabani, too, has acted in the video. Daughter of a former police officer of the district, she had heard cases of families being devastated due to consumption of ganja by their earning members or arrested for growing and trading in it, from her father. Pursuing MBA in Bhubaneswar, she decided to come to Malkangiri and do the video to contribute to the awareness drive, which has been initiated by the Malkangiri police.
Ranjeet, likewise, is a private bank employee and he also wanted to contribute to the initiative to stop youths from smoking ganja.
The video has been directed by Bhakti, who owns a studio and creates wedding videos for a living. He said until a few years back, many tribals staying in the hilly areas of the district were not aware that ganja cultivation was illegal.
The video aims to sensitise them about the legal repercussions of the ganja trade, he said. Bhakti also shoots videos on social issues.
Known to each other, the four youths had worked together earlier in street plays and awareness videos. Balaraju and Bhakti had last year created awareness videos on child marriage and elopement by minor boys and girls.
About 29 people including zilla parishad member Binash Kumar Mishra, school and college students have also acted in the video and none of them have charged a penny.
DSP Satyavikas Bhuyan and Model police station IIC Rigan Kindo are part of the awareness video and they have acted as police officers on screen too, while Additional Tehsildar Ashok Pal has played the role of a judge.
District SP Nitesh Wadhwani said that enforcement is not enough to curb the ganja menace and that creating awareness among the farmers and the youths is the need of the hour. The video has so far garnered 4,700 views on YouTube and over 3,808 views on Malkangiri SP’s official Twitter account.
Malkangiri police have destroyed ganja cultivation spread over 4,500 acre of land in 2021-2022 and 2,800-acre land during 2022-2023.
Ganja crops destroyed by police | Express