Forest Department personnel destroyed ganja plants recently at a location in Udumalpet range in Anamalai Tiger Reserve.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Forest Department in Tiruppur district has enhanced vigil at vulnerable locations in Anamalai Tiger Reserve to curb surreptitious cultivation of ganja by miscreants, in the wake of recent destruction of ganja plants at a location in Dhali Section in Udumalpet Range by a patrol team.
Acting on specific inputs, a team led by Forest Range Officer of Udumalpet Range A. Manikandan had, under the directions of Deputy Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve Devendra Kumar Meena, uprooted and destroyed about 20 ganja plants in different stages of growth, after taking samples for further testing.
The Forest Department has not ruled out the possibility for miscreants in the settlements raising the plants for self-consumption.
The Forest Department, according to field-level officials, has been sensitising the residents in forest settlements at Pulipatti, Mavadappu and Kurumalai to the hazards of the narcotics substance, alongside the awareness programmes highlighting the dangers of consumption of illicit alcohol conducted by personnel of Prohibition Enforcement Wing of the Police Department.
The Forest Department, sources said, was treading cautiously in handling the wrong-doers among residents in the forest settlements due to the support they enjoyed among certain political parties.
The department has, nevertheless, stated that those found responsible for cultivation of ganja in the forest area will be dealt with stringently under law. They will be prosecuted under Section 21 of the Tamil Nadu Forest Act of 1982 that covers penalties for damage or trespass in reserved forests, and prohibited acts in reserve forests. The wrong-doers will also face action under The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Published – October 10, 2024 09:05 pm IST