Statesman News Service
PHULBANI, Nov. 15: The Phulbani excise department and the police under the direct supervision of Mr Bhabagrahi Mohapatra, collector, Kandhmal, have seized 41,810 hemp plants worth Rs 4 crore. These plants were illegally cultivated in reserved forests.
The operation was completed after two separate raids were carried out near Kakenderi and Pakdei villages under the Khajuripada block last week, according to official sources. On a tip off, a joint squad of the excise department and the police yesterday raided the dense forest near Kakenderi village and destroyed 22,000 hemp plants worth Rs 2 crore. In this operation, 45 people, including 27 excise department officials led by Mr Laxmidhar Behera, superintendent, excise department were engaged.
In another incident, the squad also raided and seized 19,810 hemp plants on 6 November in the reserved forest near Pakdei village. The plants were destroyed them by setting them on fire. The approximate cost of the seized property is about Rs 2 crore in the open market. Surprisingly, no one was arrested in this connection so far.
The tribals of these areas have openly adopted hemp cultivation in the dense forests, through podu cultivation is being done in an organised way, allegedly in connivance with the police and the excise officials under the patronage of local politicians.
Last year, in a joint week-long operation by the excise department and the police, hemp cultivation over an area of 100 acres in Phiringia block was destroyed. Fourteen people were arrested in this connection, but they were acquitted by the court. The worth of the seized plants was estimated to be over Rs 15 crore. n sns
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