War on drugs: Poppy cultivation drops by 75% in  Kashmir

Srinagar: War against drugs has entered a decisive phase after anti-narcotics agencies were able to reduce the poppy cultivation by over 75 percent in Kashmir.

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.

Data accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveal that the illegal cultivation of poppy has reduced from 2206 kanals in 2018 to mere 549 kanals in 2022.

 As per the excise department, the poppy crops over 549 kanals of land have been successfully destroyed this year.

Illegal cultivation of poppy has been eliminated from Kupwara. However, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam, and Shopian continue to have poppy fields. Nearly 430 kanals of land are under poppy cultivation.

 In Anantnag, poppy cultivation over 206 kanals of land was destroyed. It was followed by Pulwama where crop spread over 128 kanals of land was destroyed. Likewise, in Sjoppian, the crop spread over 40 kanals of land was destroyed.  Poppy spread over 56 kanals of land was destroyed in Kulgam.

The excise department destroyed the poppy crop over 21 kanals of land in Baramulla. In Bandipora, Srinagar, Budgam, and Ganderbal, the department destroyed poppy crops over 4,3,88 and 3 kanals, of land respectively.

 Tahir Ajaz, Deputy Excise Commissioner (Executive) Kashmir told The Kashmir Monitor that the department is conducting a drive every year to eliminate the poppy cultivation in Kashmir.

 “The cultivation of poppy is banned in Jammu and Kashmir since 1959. Our employees destroy the crop in every district. We have entered a full elimination phase. We have succeeded in reducing the cultivation by 1/8th in the last few years,” he said.

 Ajaz said there was no more large-scale cultivation of poppy recorded in Kashmir now. “Now, we are focusing on destroying the crop on small patches including lawns and kitchen gardens. Our employees survey a particular area and accordingly destruction activity begins,” he said.

Pertinently, the administration this year 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.