Tripura: Security forces destroy ganja cultivation worth ₹27 crore on forest land

Agartala (Tripura) [India], January 30 (ANI): In a major anti-narcotics operation, security forces destroyed a large-scale illegal ganja cultivation spread across forest land in Sonamura subdivision of Tripura on Wednesday.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a joint team conducted raids and search operations from 7:45 am to 5:00 pm on January 29 in the forest areas of Kamalanagar, Krishnadola, Dulunga and Bijoy Nagar. During the operation, security personnel detected and destroyed 41 ganja plantation plots.
Officials said approximately 1.80 lakh mature ganja plants were destroyed on the spot. The estimated market value of the destroyed narcotic crop is around ₹27 crore.
The illegal cultivation was spread across nearly 65 acres of forest land, officials added.
The joint operation was conducted by personnel from Sonamura Police Station, along with the 81 Battalion BSF, the 5th, 9th, 11th, and 14th Battalions TSR, the 14th Battalion Women TSR, the 35 Battalion Assam Rifles, and other sister security agencies.
The operation is part of intensified efforts by law enforcement and security forces to curb illegal narcotics cultivation and protect forest land in the region.
Earlier in the month, joint security forces destroyed a massive ganja plantation spread across forest land in the Kalamchoura region of Sepahijala district in Tripura, officials said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs on Saturday, the operation was conducted from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm in the North Kalamchoura, South Kalamchoura, and Anandapur Ghatigarh areas. During the coordinated raid and search operation, around 19 lakh pre-mature ganja plants were uprooted and destroyed on the spot.
Officials said the illegal cultivation covered nearly 650 acres of forest land, with the market value of the destroyed ganja estimated at around Rs 100 crore.
The large-scale operation was jointly conducted by Kalamchoura and Sonamura Police Stations, Bishramganj Police Station, along with personnel from BSF battalions 42, 43, 49, 69 and 81, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th and 14th Women Battalion, the Sonamura Sub-Divisional Forest Department, the District Civil Magistrate (DCM), Sonamura, and the Excise Department, Sepahijala, besides other sister agencies.
The operation was led by the Commandants of the 81 and 42 Battalions, BSF, along with the Additional Superintendent of Police, Sepahijala; the SDPO, Sonamura; and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, DIB, Sepahijala.Senior officials termed the operation a significant achievement in the ongoing drive against narcotics cultivation. They said such joint actions would continue to protect forest land and curb drug-related activities in the district. (ANI)