Ganja planters exploit tribals’ ignorance   

KAKINADA: For tribals of Odia Camp in Mothugudem panchayat of Chintur mandal in East Godavari district, ganja cultivation is the only source of livelihood. Though they are not directly involved in the illegal activity, they are hired by contractors or middlemen to work in ganja fields. The tribals are paid Rs 200 to Rs 300 per day depending on the nature of the work.

A visit to Odia Camp has revealed that the tribals are ignorant of ganja cultivators and where the raised crop goes. “Some of the tribals are not aware of the fact that ganja cultivation is a crime,” said a revenue official.

Odia Camp is one of the hamlets in Mothugudem panchayat. It is named Odia Camp as about 55 tribal families migrated from Odisha, live in the hamlet. “We cultivate paddy and cereals in 30 to 40 acres in the fringes of the adjacent hill. We also get some income through the sale of honey, tamarind and other forest produce,” said Kilo Mothi, a dweller of Odia Camp. 

In the absence of any other work for the tribals of Odia Camp located in Andhra and Odisha Border, they used to work in ganja fields. “The farm work includes sowing seeds, watering plants, removing weeds and harvesting the crop,” said a tribal.

The hamlet does not have power supply. Though there are no borewells, watering the crop is not a problem as hill streams flow throughout the year. Pipelines have been laid to ganja  fields by cultivators to draw water from streams. 

Ganja seeds are sown between April and May. The crop comes to harvest in four to six months. For the tribals of Odia Camp, working in ganja fields is a matter of survival as they are illiterate and ignorant to be aware of its harmful effects. 

Generally, middlemen maintain secrecy in cultivation of ganja. They do not hire the same group of tribals for sowing seeds and raising the crop.If a group of tribals is hired for sowing seeds, another group is engaged for watering the crop and removing weeds.

“As the tribals do not have any address proof and caste certificate, a majority of them are not getting benefits of any welfare scheme. Some receive monthly ration and pension at the Mothugudem panchayat office,” said Chintur tahsildar K Satyanarayana.  

SP M Ravindranath Babu said, “Alternative livelihood will be provided to tribals as part of ‘Parivarthana’  to curb ganja cultivation in AOB.”

790 kg of ganja worth Rs 80 lakh seized in Vizag
Visakhapatnam: In a major haul, the city police seized 790 kg of ganja worth Rs 80 lakh, while it was being smuggled in a truck to Tamil Nadu. Duvvada CI Lakshmi said ganja was concealed under potato bags in the truck. Driver Chandrasekhar Bhaskar (34) of Tiruvallur and helper Jhonson Sankar (21) were arrested.