Khonsa (Tirap), Jan. 16: The winds of change are blowing across Arunachal Pradesh?s opium bowl. Vast stretches of undulating terrain that once used to be dotted with poppy plantations are on the way to becoming horticulture gardens.
The transition is expected to be a life-changing one for residents of the far-flung villages of Tirap and Changlang districts, where addiction to opium has been rampant for ages.
Tirap deputy commissioner J.P. Choudhury said floriculture and ?high-return? crops like vanilla and patchouli would be promoted in the twin districts as part of a Rs 25-crore project.
The administration hopes to use the revenue-generating scheme to wean away villagers from illicit poppy farming.
?The implementation strategy is being worked out. The scheme will also provide an alternative to jhum (shifting cultivating), which is popular in these parts,? Choudhury said.
A recent study by the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) revealed that poppy, known as kani in the Northeast, is cultivated in as many as 103 villages of Tirap, Changlang, Lohit and Upper Siang. This is about 12 per cent of the number of villages in the four districts. Arunachal Pradesh home minister L. Wanglat said the change in the tenor of the anti-opium campaign was necessitated by the uniqueness of the situation in the state.
?Poppy cannot be uprooted by force, as past experience has shown us. It is almost impossible to police the entire area because of the hostile terrain,? the minister, who is also in charge of development of Tirap and Changlang, said.
The twin districts are on the border of the Golden Triangle, which is infamous for producing opium and heroin. However, unlike residents of the border areas of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, villagers of Arunachal Pradesh are not involved in the thriving international narcotics trade.
The CBN, in collaboration with the United Nations Drug Control Programme, had launched a project called Operation Tulip for total eradication of poppy cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh. A few poppy plantations were destroyed, but the success was shortlived as the cultivators shifted to inaccessible areas.