Innovative scheme to counter menace of drugs

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IMPHAL, Manipur: To curb the consumption of drugs in the state, the Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh, has launched an innovative scheme, “Cultivation of Horticulture Crops as an Alternative to Poppy Cultivation in Hill Areas”, on June 10, under the state’s umbrella initiative called “War on Drugs 2.0”.

Manipur has been witnessing a continuous surge in the consumption of drugs for the last five years. The “War on Drug 2.0” has been launched to curb the growing influence of drugs in the state. Under the initiative, CM Singh launched an innovative scheme, “Cultivation of Horticulture Crops as an Alternative to Poppy Cultivation in Hill Areas”.

The scheme aims to phase-out the poppy cultivation, while simultaneously providing an alternative means of livelihood to the poppy grower. CM Singh highlighted that nearly 355 farmers from the Kangpokpi, Kamjong and Ukhrul districts had benefitted from the campaign War on Drugs.

Also, the local official has been visiting distant hamlets to raise awareness among the local farmers regarding the ill effects of the cultivation of poppy and simultaneously provide an alternative source of income to them.

Small camps will be established at various locations in the state to ensure the timely delivery of saplings of alternative crops to the local farmers. Approximately, Rs 4 crores have been sanctioned for the scheme.

CM Singh also flagged off vans to distribute planting materials to the farmers of Chandel, Kamjong, Kangpokpi Tengnoupal and Ukhrul. In the first phase, planting material of Ginger, large Cardamom, Turmeric, low chilling Apple, Pineapple, Kachai lemon and Tamenglong Orange.

In the second phase, the administration will be providing the seeds of winter vegetables In October 2022.

“MANIFRESH”- a brand promoting organic produce from the hill state, was also launched. He also mentioned that under the initiative of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), to transform the lives of tribal communities, nearly 400 Self Help Groups (SHGs) have been established across the northeastern state. These SHGs are employing up to 50,000 tribal women, mainly in the food processing industry.