Tripura: Security forces destroy ganja plantation worth Rs 100 crore in Sepahijala

Agartala (Tripura) [India], January 4 (ANI): In a major crackdown on illegal narcotics cultivation, 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)