Kathmandu, July 2

Police destroyed marijuana plants allegedly growing wild in over 1,100 ropanis of land in two separate places of Lalitpur on Saturday.

DSP Prakash Rana Bhat led a team of 89 cops equipped with necessary logistics got rid of the marijuana plants in Chapakharka area of Godavari Municipality-4. Similarly, a separate team of 91 personnel under the command of DSP Kisan Singh Thapa destroyed weeds in the Triveni area.

Officials said more than 80,000 marijuana plants were uprooted and destroyed.

This drive is also under way in different places of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, mainly the outskirts, to deter drug traders from smuggling the contraband abroad. It is also aimed at controlling drug abuse among local youths.

Last month, the Narcotics Control Bureau, in association with the local police, destroyed weeds cultivated in over 1,100 ropanis of land at Chilaune, Okhreni and Mulkharka of Gokarneshwor Municipality, Kathmandu.

Marijuana cultivation, which is rampant in other parts of the country, is also gaining ground in the Valley.

Officials said marijuana cultivation had been gaining ground on the outskirts of the Valley and the law enforcement agency was doing utmost to destroy the farms.

The NCB has already destroyed marijuana plants in more than 4,000 ropanis of land in the Valley over a period of two years.

Whenever police get information about marijuana cultivation, they destroy the crops and take action against the guilty. In some cases, drug traffickers were involved in cannabis cultivation.

Clandestine cultivation of cannabis is rampant elsewhere in the country, as it provides the farmers with better returns than other food crops.