BHUBANESWAR: The state police stated they are set to undertake the latest technology to find ganja vegetation which might be being cultivated in inaccessible Maoist-dominated districts. Director general of police R P Sharma stated the Odisha Space Applications Centre (ORSAC) is already at the job of collecting the latest satellite images of zones the place ganja has been planted."We have been receiving satellite images from ORSAC but they are not of a great quality and it cannot help us detect the exact locations where ganja cultivation is rife. However, with the latest geographic information system and satellite data they will be able to help us pinpoint where ganja is being grown," Sharma told TOI.
Out of the 30 districts in Odisha, the 8 extremist-dominated districts of Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Boudh are also the pockets which see the most rampant illegal ganja cultivation. Police stated Maoists within the area rely heavily on ganja industry and feature been supporting such cultivation.
Cultivators have, since last year, expanded to the inhospitable terrains in Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada and Gajapati districts. "We hope to trace their location soon with the help of the satellite data. They have been moving towards those areas mostly because we continue to crack down on illegal ganja cultivation," Sharma stated.
The top cop credited police staff with destroying ganja vegetation throughout 199 acres within the Maoist stronghold of Malkangiri in 2017-18. "In comparison, only 33 acres of ganja plants were destroyed in the district in 2016-17. Also, for the first time, we managed to destroy 28 acres of ganja in Koraput in 2017-18, where we could not have similar operations earlier due to Maoist threat," Sharma stated.
Additional director general of police (crime department) Santosh Upadhayay stated a total of four,407 acres of illegal ganja vegetation had been destroyed in seven districts (Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Koraput) during the crop year of 2017-18. "We had set a target to destroy 3,050 acres of ganja plants during the year. We achieved more than the target. This is an all-time record," Upadhyay stated.
The state government lately decided to invoke Section 46 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against the ones land homeowners who allow cultivation of cannabis and poppy and fail to inform police, excise or woodland authorities relating to such cultivation.
The hilly terrain of the area further makes crackdown tricky for police. Last year, 420 instances were registered underneath the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 476 quintals of ganja was seized and 700 persons arrested.
Out of the 30 districts in Odisha, the 8 extremist-dominated districts of Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Boudh are also the pockets which see the most rampant illegal ganja cultivation. Police stated Maoists within the area rely heavily on ganja industry and feature been supporting such cultivation.
Cultivators have, since last year, expanded to the inhospitable terrains in Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada and Gajapati districts. "We hope to trace their location soon with the help of the satellite data. They have been moving towards those areas mostly because we continue to crack down on illegal ganja cultivation," Sharma stated.
The top cop credited police staff with destroying ganja vegetation throughout 199 acres within the Maoist stronghold of Malkangiri in 2017-18. "In comparison, only 33 acres of ganja plants were destroyed in the district in 2016-17. Also, for the first time, we managed to destroy 28 acres of ganja in Koraput in 2017-18, where we could not have similar operations earlier due to Maoist threat," Sharma stated.
Additional director general of police (crime department) Santosh Upadhayay stated a total of four,407 acres of illegal ganja vegetation had been destroyed in seven districts (Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Koraput) during the crop year of 2017-18. "We had set a target to destroy 3,050 acres of ganja plants during the year. We achieved more than the target. This is an all-time record," Upadhyay stated.
The state government lately decided to invoke Section 46 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against the ones land homeowners who allow cultivation of cannabis and poppy and fail to inform police, excise or woodland authorities relating to such cultivation.
The hilly terrain of the area further makes crackdown tricky for police. Last year, 420 instances were registered underneath the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 476 quintals of ganja was seized and 700 persons arrested.
Police to harness latest tech to crack down on ganja cultivation in Maoist strongholds
![Police to harness latest tech to crack down on ganja cultivation in Maoist strongholds]()
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January 22, 2018
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