Imphal: Unlawful poppy cultivation in Manipur has seen a notable decline over the previous 4 years, in response to a survey by the Manipur Distant Sensing Purposes Centre (MARSAC), which used superior mapping and estimation strategies.
MARSAC started this survey in 2021 as a part of the Manipur Authorities’s “Conflict on Medicine” initiative, led by chief minister N Biren Singh.
This research, carried out from September 2023 to January 2024, mapped the poppy cultivation areas. The report exhibits a drop in poppy cultivation from 16,632.29 acres in 2022-2023 to 11,288.07 acres in 2023-2024, cultivated throughout 9 hill districts – Chandel, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul. In 2022-2023, over 16,890 acres of opium poppy have been cultivated in these 9 hill districts. The opposite districts included Churachandpur, Chandel, Kamjong, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, and Ukhrul.
Total, in 2023-2024, opium poppy cultivation decreased by 32.13 per cent in comparison with the earlier yr, 2022-2023. The preliminary MARSAC report from 2021-2022 confirmed that 28,598.91 acres have been below poppy cultivation in eight districts, with Kangpokpi district having the biggest space at 9,517.90 acres.
This represents a lower from 28,598.91 acres in 2021-2022 to 16,890.37 acres in 2022-2023, a discount of 40.94 per cent in comparison with the earlier yr.
The report additionally highlighted that poppy cultivation in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts dropped from 6,688.61 acres in 2021-2022 to 4,062.04 acres in 2022-2023, and from 9,517.90 acres in 2021-2022 to five,407.47 acres in 2022-2023, respectively.
Tamenglong district had about 96.06 acres of poppy cultivation in 2022-2023. Noney, beforehand poppy-free in 2021-2022, confirmed 132.36 acres of poppy cultivation in 2022-2023. Pherzawl district stays the one poppy-free hill district in Manipur, in response to the survey.
An official report by the Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB) corroborated the MARSAC findings, displaying important progress in eradicating poppy cultivation from 2017 to 2024. NAB reported the destruction of 19,135.50 acres of poppy plantations throughout this era, with the very best destruction charges in Kangpokpi at 4,454.4 acres, adopted by Churachandpur at 2,317.8 acres.