Militants collecting tax from poppy cultivators-CM

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by SPN Editor

CM N Biren said that the State Government came to know about poppy cultivation under pressure and some militant outfits under Suspension of Operation (SoO) are collecting tax, as revealed by two village chiefs arrested by the police.

Biren reiterated Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s appreciation of the State Government’s War on Drugs Campaign and the alternative crop plantation initiatives taken up by the Government. He mentioned that the State Government had been providing awareness to different villages in hill areas regarding the ill effects of poppy plantations and the alternative livelihood measures taken up by the Government.

Stating that drone surveys are being carried out to check poppy plantations in certain interior areas, the Chief Minister informed that steps had been taken up to destroy the poppy plantations, by deploying a combined team consisting of personnel of Manipur Police and Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB).

He appealed to those poppy planters to immediately stop such activities and said that the State Government does not want to take harsh action against them. He also highlighted that under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Government can confiscate even the property of drug dealers and poppy cultivators, expressing that the Government does not want to go that far.

Chief Minister N Biren was visiting the Sangai Ethnic Park at Moirang Khunou today and inspected the development works taken up there prior to the G20 event which will be held in the State from February 16 to 18, 2023. He also visited the INA Memorial Complex being developed at Moirang.

Briefing the media at the INA Memorial Complex, Biren informed about the likely visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the State in January next year. As such, the State Government had requested the Union Home Minister to hoist the 165 feet high Indian National Flag, which is being installed inside the INA Memorial Complex.

He continued that a memorial site for those 185 brave soldiers who joined the then-Indian National Army, to liberate India from the British, would also be developed. The memorial site would also be inaugurated by the Union Home Minister during his visit, he added.

Mentioning his visit to the Sangai Ethnic Park, the Chief Minister further informed that a session of G20 Summit 2023 would also be held in the State. As such, representatives of participating counties will also visit different places in the State, including Loktak Lake, Sangai Ethnic Park, and others, during their visit to the State for the session, he added.

He also informed that the Grand Finale of Femina Miss India would be held at the Sangai Ethnic Park in the first week of April 2023. He continued that he had visited the park to see the progress of the development and to ensure its completion before the G20 session.

During the inspection, the Chief Minister was accompanied by Education Minister Thounaojam Basanta Kumar, MLA of Moirang AC Thongam Shanti, MLA of Thanga AC Tongbram Robindro, MLA of Lamsang AC Sorokhaibam Rajen, Chairman, Loktak Development Authority M. Asnikumar, Chief Secretary Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Managing Director, Manipur Police Housing Corporation Limited Christopher Doungel, Additional Chief Secretary V. Vumlunmang, and other officials among others.