Forty quintals of ganja worth around Rs 2 crore seized in Malkangiri. Picture by Ratnakar Dash

Bhubaneswar, March 3: Malkangiri’s Red zone is high on grass that grows under the shadow of Maoist guns.

The rebels’ support to the thriving ganja (cannabis) trade in the inaccessible parts of the southern Orissa district, a known Maoist bastion, has become evident following the seizure of 3.6 tonnes of contraband from Sorlukunda under Orkel police limits early yesterday morning.

The area, where the seizure was made, is not far from Malkangiri’s cut-off belt (inaccessible zone).

Officer in-charge of Orkel police station Aniruddha Routray said the trade was being patronised by the Maoists who ruled the roost in the inaccessible areas of the district, including Chitrakonda, focus of the state government’s anti-naxalite operation.

“Ganja means easy money for the rebels. Their cut is 20 to 30 per cent a bag of grass. This seizure, the biggest in the district so far, was worth Rs 1.80 crore, according to local rates. However, once the stuff reaches markets outside the state, it would fetch nothing less than Rs 5 crore,” said Routray, adding that the 133 labourers, who were carrying the consignment to Chhatisgarh, would be forwarded to court today.

According to sources, the ganja is normally routed to Chhatisgarh through Kotaput. From Chhatisgarh, it makes its way to other parts of the state. “The labourers have been employed probably to escape attention of the BSF jawans who are now everywhere in Malkangiri and Koraput. However, they ran out of luck at Sorlukunda,” said Routray, adding that this was the third seizure of the contraband in his area in as many months. “The rebels think they are providing the people of the inaccessible areas an alternative source of earning by protecting the ganja growers. This is their way of ushering in the Red revolution,” said the police officer.

Inspector in-charge of Chitrakonda police station Rajesh Chatria said villages such as, Kapatudi and Burudiput, apart from Patlur under the Kalimela police station, were notorious for growing ganja. “The cultivation is also going on in the inaccessible area, but it remains inaccessible for the better part of the year. We have heard about Maoists patronising ganja cultivation, but we are yet to come across concrete proof,” said Chatri.

Sources said that apart from Malkangiri, ganja plantations were also thriving in the hills and forests of Rayagada, Gajpati and Kandhmal districts where the Maoists had managed to establish a strong base. While cannabis plants worth around Rs 20 lakh have been destroyed in Rayagada during the past few years, raids on illegal plantations have also been carried in some other areas.

What worries the law keepers is the alleged involvement of small-time politicians in the ganja trade in districts such as, Kandhmal. Raids on some ganja plantations in the district a few years ago had led to the arrest of a sarpanch which surprised the authorities.

Bhubaneswar, March 3: Malkangiri’s Red zone is high on grass that grows under the shadow of Maoist guns.

The rebels’ support to the thriving ganja (cannabis) trade in the inaccessible parts of the southern Orissa district, a known Maoist bastion, has become evident following the seizure of 3.6 tons of contraband from Sorlukunda under Orkel police limits early yesterday morning.

The area, where the seizure was made, is not far from Malkangiri’s “cut-off” belt which was in news recently for the kidnapping of district collector, R. Vineel Krishna and junior engineer, Pabitra Majhi who were released after spending nine days in the custody of Maoists.

Officer-in-charge of Orkel police station, Aniruddha Routray admitted that the trade was being patronized by the Maoists who ruled the roost in the inaccessible areas of the district including Chitrakonda which has been the focus of state government’s anti-naxalite operation.

“ Ganja means easy money for the rebels. Their cut is 20 to 30 percent per bag of grass. This seizure, the biggest in the district so far, was worth Rs.1.80 crore according to local rates. But once the stuff reaches markets outside the state it would fetch nothing less than Rs.5 crore,” said Routray adding that the 133 labourers who were carrying the consignment to Chhatisgarh would be forwarded to the court today.

Sources said that the ganja being grown in the inaccessible hills of Chitrakonda is normally routed to Chhatisgarh through Kotaput. From Chhatisgarh it makes its way to other parts of the state. “ The labourers were employed perhaps to escape the attention of the BSF jawans who are now everywhere in Malkangiri and Koraput. But they ran out of luck at Sorlukunda,” said Routray adding that this was the third seizure of the contraband in his area in as many months. “ The rebels think they are providing the people in inaccessible areas an alternative source of earning by protecting the ganja growers. This is their way of ushering in the Red revolution,” added the police officer.

The inspector-in-charge of Chitrakonda police station, Rajesh Chatria said that villages such as Kapatudi and Burudiput besides Patlur under Kalimela police station were notorious for growing ganja. “ The cultivation is also going on in the ‘cut-off’ area but it remains inaccessible for the better part of the year. We have heard about Maoists patronizing ganja cultivation but we are yet to come across concrete proof,” added Chatri.

Sources said apart from Malkangiri, ganja plantations are also thriving in the hills and forests of Rayagada Gajpati and Kandhmal districts where the Maoists have managed to establish a strong base over the years. While cannabis plants worth around 20 lakh rupees have been destroyed in Rayagada during the last few years, raids on illegal plantations have also been carried in some other areas.

What worries the law keepers is the alleged involvement of small time politicians in the ganja trade in districts like Kandhmal. Raids on some ganja plantations in the district a few years ago had led to the arrest of a sarpanch which surprised the authorities.