NCB and Lohit district personnel destroy opium crop

Close to the harvesting season of opium, the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) and the Lohit district administration have destroyed illegal cultivation of opium crop in 110 hectares in Shivajinagar and Panbari areas till yesterday.
The team was led by NCP officials who undertook the drive since February 6 last, an official statement said here today.
"Fifteen acres of land under illegal opium cultivation were damaged in Panbari. On Saturday, when the team comprising labourers and tractors was heading for Tafragam, some women and their siblings intercepted them and blocked the road with logs and by felling trees. The Circle Officer on duty informed the situation to the DC and the SP, and sought deployment of police personnel," the statement said.

The aggrieved women also pelted stones at the team but no one was hurt.
The vehicle of the circle officer was damaged.
NCB teams from New Delhi visit this pocket of Lohit district every year during this season to damage opium cultivation.

Opium is illegally cultivated from 32 Mile area to Lohitpur, on the sides of the road to Demwe and Tafragam, besides in kitchen gardens of the local residents.
"The villagers are ignorant about its implications on health. The craze for earning money in a short time without much labour is the prime reason for its widespread cultivation," the sources said.

The government is making available special economic packages as alternative to opium cultivation, the sources said.