‘We will give up ganja cultivation if MSP is guaranteed for agriculture produce,’ say Odisha villagers
Villagers hit the street in wake of massive crackdown launched by Malkangiri police
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Despite knowing that they could be penalised under provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, for growing cannabis, villagers came out in the open to put conditions that they would stop cultivating the illicit crop if all Government welfare programmes were implemented in their locality. About 10,000 residents of 35 villages of Ralegada gram panchayats assembled at Dhuliput to put forth their 19-point demand. “We are not getting actual price for our agricultural produce. Most of the villagers of Ralegada and other neighbouring gram panchayats depend on cannabis cultivation. The money earned from cannabis cultivation helps us send our wards to distant places for education.” (See also: Ganja confiscation leads to overcrowding in Odisha jails | From Odisha to Rajasthan, cannabis trade on a new high)
