AP police to destroy over 3 lakh kgs of dry ganja, highest in the country

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh police is gearing up to burn around 3 lakh kgs of ganja seized from various parts of the state. As part of its drive, the police burned 64,832 kgs of seized dry ganja on Friday and they will burn 1.8 lakh kgs of dry ganja and 131 liters of hash oil at Koduru village under Anakapalle district on Saturday.

It may be recalled that the police burned over 2 lakh kgs of seized ganja in Anakapalle district in February 2022. It was the biggest such operation in India. The value of the burned contraband is estimated to be Rs. 200 crores.

A senior police officer said the AP police seized over 2.45 lakh kgs of dry ganja in the state in 2022 and interestingly, 70% of the seized ganja came from Odisha.

To ensure that the smoke from the burning contraband does not intoxicate the people, the police have chosen a secluded area, about 2 km away from the nearest habitation in Anakapalle district. The police also burn firewood, camphor, sugar, and sawmill dust to hasten the process and reduce the impact of ganja burning on the fauna, the police added. It will take at least a day for the entire contraband to be reduced to ashes.

The police said the government is planning to guide tribal farmers to adopt alternative crops and replace ganja and provide a market price for their produce. The AP police started Operation Parivartana on 1 November 2021 and have destroyed ganja crops worth Rs. 9,251 crores. Ganja crops on another 400 acres were destroyed by ganja farmers themselves.