PHULBANI: Intensifying its crackdown on illegal cannabis cultivation, Kandhamal police destroyed ganja plantations spread across nearly 30 acre of forest land in Luising panchayat in Gochhapada and arrested nine persons on Friday.
The operation was conducted on October 14 and 15. Acting on intelligence inputs about large-scale commercial cultivation in remote forest areas, a police team led by Sadar SDPO Subhrajit Biswal carried out the operation.
Police said the plantations had been systematically developed using irrigation facilities and fertilisers. The cannabis plants were destroyed after obtaining authorisation from the executive magistrate. Samples were collected for legal proceedings, while drones were deployed to monitor the operation. The destruction was documented through photography and videography.
The nine arrested persons hail from Kandhamal, Boudh and Sambalpur districts. A case has been registered at Gochhapada police station under the NDPS Act.
The operation marked the beginning of the 2026-27 cropping season drive under the ‘Mission Zero Cannabis Cultivation’ programme, aimed at making Kandhamal district free from illegal ganja farming.
SP Ramendra Prasad said the campaign would target not only ganja mafia but also cultivators, financiers, hired musclemen and others facilitating the illegal trade. Fertiliser dealers found supplying farm inputs for cannabis cultivation would also face legal action.
Prasad further said satellite imagery and drone cameras would be used to identify illegal plantations. Cultivators growing ganja on private or forest land have been asked to destroy their crops voluntarily or face police action.
The SP said police, forest and excise officials have also been cautioned against facilitating the illegal ganja trade and appealed to the public to cooperate with the administration in eliminating cannabis cultivation from the district.
BOUDH POLICE LAUNCH ‘ZERO CANNABIS CULTIVATION’ MISSION, DESTROY 52K PLANTS
Berhampur: Police have destroyed around 52,000 cannabis plants in a forest area near Bagidia village in Boudh district. The operation was carried out on Thursday in the Bhalu Pahad forest area under Manamunda police station limits, launching the ‘Zero Cannabis Cultivation in Boudh’ mission of the district police.
The cannabis plants were uprooted and burnt. Sub-divisional police officer Laren Routray was inspected the destruction. Manamunda police have registered a case against unidentified persons under Section 20(a)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Section 27(1) of the Orissa Forest Act. Police have launched an investigation to identify those responsible for cultivating cannabis illegally on forest land.
