80 acres of ganja fields destroyed under 'Parivartana' programme in Andhra's Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 30 (ANI): In a bid to check the usage and trafficking of illicit drugs, local police in Visakhapatnam's G Madugula Mandal destroyed about 80 acres of ganja fields on Saturday.
As per an official release by District Police Office, a comprehensive program "Parivartana" has been conceived under the leadership of DGP Gautam Sawang with able support from Revenue, Forest and Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) officials in Visakhapatnam.
"The ganja crop destruction programme has begun with active participation of Local Police, SEB, Revenue, Forest and Integrated Tribal Development Agency ITDA (ITDA). A total of 80 Acres were destroyed today in G Madugula Mandal and the initiative would continue further till the problem of illicit cultivation is cleared from the agency tracts of Visakhapatnam district," read the release.
The release further stated that a comprehensive survey was done to identify the land being cultivated for Ganja physically and also technological support like satellite images, GPS, drones were taken to locate the crops in the Visakhapatnam agency areas.
"Awareness campaigns are being taken extensively educating the villagers about the ill-fated consequences of ganja cultivation and the impact it is having on the younger generation particularly. At several places, the people themselves came forward and voluntarily destroyed the ganja crop," it added. (ANI)