LAZU, 3 Mar: The Tirap district administration, with the help of the police and officials of the tax & excise department, destroyed 27.5 acres of illegal poppy fields here in Tirap district on Friday.
SP Kardak Riba said that “the drive was carried out as some villagers are still found involved in illegal poppy cultivation, despite many awareness campaigns having been conducted earlier in Lazu circle.”
The SP further said that, apart from poppy plants, “more dangerous and highly addictive brown sugar and heroin are being produced, which will have a catastrophic effect on the society, especially on the younger generation.”
Lazu EAC DK Thungdok, who led the team, informed that a series of awareness campaigns on the drug menace were conducted in Lazu area earlier, and that “the farming community of Lazu circle vehemently appealed to the government for alternative crops to replace opium cultivation.”
“Pigs were distributed to some farmers and beneficiaries of Lazu village by the district administration from veterinary and animal husbandry department,” the EAC said.
The 40-member team included Lazu PS OC Sheychin Chena, Tax & Excise Inspector Opang Apang, and other officials of the district administration, the police, and the tax & excise department. (DIPRO)
