2,241 acres of poppy plants worth Rs 157cr destroyed in Manipur in 2018-19 crop year: Official

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A total of 2,241 acres of poppy cultivation in Manipur were destroyed in the crop year of 2018-19, police said on Thursday.

The destroyed poppy crops were worth Rs 156.87 crore in the international market, Superintendent of Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB), W Basu Singh said.

"At least 10 kg opium is yielded from an acre of poppy crops," the officer told PTI.

A total of 2,210 acres of poppy plants were destroyed in the 2016-17 crop year while the corresponding number for 2017-18 was 1,506 acres, he said.

"The sole challenge faced by law enforcers in destroying the poppy crops is accessing the areas in remote hilly regions of the state where they are grown," he said.

The state police in coordination with stakeholders conducts awareness campaigns regularly to dissuade farmers from cultivating poppy, the officer said.

"However, many of them continue cultivating poppy for easy money," he said.

The poppy grown in Manipur is bought by dealers in neighbouring Myanmar, where it is processed into drugs and exported back to the state, sources said.

Manipur shares a 398 km international border with Myanmar.

Poppy cultivation is banned in Manipur under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.