Imphal: Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Saturday announced that the state government is planning to develop a ‘war on drugs’ model village at Peh village in Ukhrul district.
Addressing a press conference at the CM’s secretariat, Singh said the residents of Peh village had spontaneously destroyed the poppy plantation in their village in support of the state’s movement on the war on drugs.
“It is rare and unexpected that this kind of spontaneous support will come. Yesterday, I received a message on the WhatsApp stating that the residents of Peh village initiated and destroyed the poppy plantation, supporting the mission on the war on drugs,” said CM Biren Singh.
Singh further announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to Peh villagers in recognition and appreciation for the noble initiative and pledged to make a ‘poppy free village’.
As informed by CM Biren Singh, a team of officials from horticulture, agriculture and fisheries departments have made a spot visit at Peh village and accessed the village to identify for alternative crops for a sustainable livelihood. The team was headed by additional director horticulture Dev Dutta Sharma, he said.
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Speaking to EastMojo, Lemza Raising, a local, informed the eradication drive took place under the initiative of Peh Village Authority.
“So far, there is only one family in the entire village who engaged in the poppy plantation. However, either for small or mass production, the village authority resolved to completely eradicate the practice of such plantation within the village jurisdiction,” said Raising.
If we continue to let them do poppy cultivation, we will not be able to stop it in future. That’s why we carried out the drive despite a small scale of the poppy plantation, added Raising.
Situated at a distance of over 40 km from the district headquarters, Peh village has over 600 households with around 3,800 populations.
Expressing their gratitude to the chief minister for the recognition, the villagers also urged the state government to construct a primary health centre (PHC) in the village.
People in the village, especially those senior citizens and family having financial constraint, are facing severe hardships in times of medical emergency due to the lack of health centre facility in the village, added Raising.
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