LAHAN, Dec 30: Police recently destroyed 500 cannabis plants in Golbazar Municipality-2, Tudkiya. Though police destroyed such a large amount of cannabis, they did not punish a single person for growing the plant illegally.
"We have destroyed cannabis plants from the fields of each local," said Inspector Nabin Ghimire of Area Police Office (APO), Golbazaar, adding, "We can't punish them until they are engaged in professional farming." Superintendent of Police (SP) of Siraha, Jiwan Shrestha, informed that more than 5,000 plants of cannabis have been destroyed in the last five months.
On October 6, police destroyed around 5,000 plants of cannabis in Mairchaiya Municipality-1 alone. Despite destroying such a large number of ripe cannabis, police did not punish a single person even around three months ago.
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Since then, police have been active in destroying cannabis. While farmers in Tarai-Madhes are busy farming the drug, police have intensified their campaign to destroy cannabis.
Every year, police start the campaign to destroy cannabis from November. Though police publicly announce how much cannabis they destroy, they never mention the names of the owners. As per the record maintained by the District Police Office, Siraha, police destroyed 11,347 plants of cannabis in the fiscal year 2015/16. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2016/17, police destroyed 10,730 cannabis plants.
Likewise, in the fiscal year 2017/18, police destroyed 10,216 cannabis plants. But not a single person was arrested in all these years.
"Most of the owners run away as soon as they find out that police have arrived at their field destroy their production," said SP Shrestha. He says that they cannot directly take action against people also because cannabis can sometimes grow on their own without anyone sowing the seeds.
The data collected by police clearly prove that locals are engaged in commercial farming of cannabis but the question - why those growing cannabis are not arrested still? – still remains unanswered.
