Srinagar: South Kashmir continues to be the hub of illegal poppy cultivation.
Data accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveals that more than 60 percent of the total poppy crop has been destroyed in four districts of south Kashmir.
Data reveals that excise, revenue, and police departments this year cleared poppy on 1200 kanals in Kashmir.
In South Kashmir alone, around 721 kanals of poppy cultivation have been destroyed, which makes up 60 percent of the total cannabis.
Kulgam tops the list in poppy cultivation. The government destroyed the poppy on 450 kanals in the district.
For the last few years, the excise department has gone the whole hog against poppy cultivation. Poppy crop over thousands of kanals of land has been destroyed. Vulnerable areas were put under a scanner which has helped in curbing the menace.
As per data, this year there has been a surge of 49 percent in the illegal cultivation of poppy in the valley.
Last year, the excise department destroyed poppy over 662 kanals of land in the valley.
Till 2022, the illegal cultivation of poppy has reduced from 2206 kanals in 2018 to mere 662 kanals.
An official from the excise department said that the illegal cultivation of this crop is mostly concentrated in south Kashmir.
“From orchards to kitchen gardens, we conducted a rigorous drive in south Kashmir. We destroyed poppy crops in huge quantities in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama, and Shopian. The drives are still going on and more than 260 kanals of land has been cleared from poppy cultivation in north and central Kashmir,” he said.
NDPS Act prohibits people from production, manufacturing, cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
For the last few years, the administration involved PRIs, village heads, and chowkidars in every tehsil to curb the menace of poppy cultivation. Religious scholars too were roped in to create awareness about the poppy in Kashmir.
