Naxals ensure ganja thrive in AP

By SNV Sudhir

Kappala (Vizag Agency), Aug 18: The tribals of the Vizag Agency are no more worried over the government's empty promises to push them above the poverty line. A simple weed grown in their backyards turning out to be a major money earner. Shilavathi, a name not known in the district, is very popular ganja peddled in the Paharganj in Delhi, streets of Mumbai, Kolkota and other metroes.Deprived of the welfare measures by the state government, the tribals in the agency area are now taking up massive cultivation of Marijuana using manure and motor pumps under the very eyes of the police and the excise officials.One can see lush green bushes spread on every hill near the remote interior villages where one cannot step in due to tough terrain.One has to walk for miles or engage horses to enter these hilltops where ganja is being cultivated. Out of 11 agency mandals 8 mandals- Hukumpeta, Ananthagiri, Paderu, Dumbriguda, Pedabayalu, G Madugula, Munchingputtu and G K Veedhi are known for ganja cultivation. This cash crop is being cultivated in thousands of acres in at least 20 to 30 villages of each mandal by the tribals. Almost all these villages are Maoists influenced areas which gives them a secuerity cover. And around 2,000 to 3,500 tribal families are involved in the cultivation. Till two years ago tribals were hired by the Tamil Nadu drug pedlars to cultivate the ganja besides providing seeds, other material and Rs 10,000 to 15,000 per acre as wages to them.But for the past two years these tribals became wiser and demanding more share. They began cultivation on their own and demanding more money from the traders.They are now using manure and motor pumps, run on kerosene to provide water from the nearby water resource for better produce.“What can we do? The government is not providing anything to us. There are no roads to our villages no welfare scheme is implemented. Not even a single officer approaches us asking our needs. We have pleaded the authorities to transfer the lands to us, which we were cultivating for ages. But they never showed interest. So, we are cultivating this ganja, which is lucrative. The cultivation needs very minimal investment. Just seeds and water are enough. We know that this is illegal,” said Sonna, belonging to Kondu tribe to this correspondent.It is very dangerous to enter these areas where the ganja is cultivated, as the tribal cultivators do not even hesitate to assault if they see any new face on their land. Mostly the Kondu, Korja and Gadaba, which are Primitive Tribal Groups, are involved in this cultivation. Sheelavathi said to be premium quality ganja is being more cultivated in the Agency areas. Around 1,500 to 2,000 kgs of Sheelavathi is produced per acre and the tribals are paid Rs 500 to 800 per kg by the traders who smuggle them to Kolkata via Vizianagaram and to Chennai via Anakapalli. According to the official records it was just in 900 acres that the ganja was cultivated in these areas in the year 2001 and due to the intensified operations by the enforcement authorities substantial results were achieved and the cultivation was reduced to very minimal acres. The Assistant Commissioner, Enforcement, Prohibition and Excise, T V Rao, said that they were conducting regular raids and destroying these ganja plants periodically.“Now we are planning to adopt a new strategy. We will now more focus on arrests and levying PD act on the big players from ‘Tamil Nadu’ who are encouraging the cultivation. We kept a watch on 3 to 5 such smugglers who are encouraging the innocent tribals in large scale. They will be nabbed very soon,” said Rao.Since 2 years the Prohibition and Excise sleuths have booked 25 cases in 2003-04 and 13 between 2004-05. They are also now planning to arrest the tribals to discourage them from growing the ganja.The excise sleuths are also not able to contain the cultivation as the tribals prefer to cultivate the ganja on the hill tops where it at least takes 7 to 8 hours just to reach the cultivation points on foot as no vehicle can go near. “By the time we reach the hilltop it becomes dark and besides it is not safe to go there as the tribals are very dangerous.The presence of Maoists base in the area became a boon for the tribals.``The Maoists are collecting Rs 100 from each bag from the traders,'' confirmed officer on special duty Vineet Brijal.The senior police told this correspondent that last year ganja worth Rs 1 crore was seized from Chitrakonda area on the border which was a record in the north coastal Andhra.