RAJBIRAJ: Farmers in Saptari district have

started growing marijuana in an

organised way, making good profit without hard labour.

At present, marijuana plantations have sprung up in many parts of the district. According to the farmers, marijuana saplings can grow on any sort of land even without care. Ram Lochan Yadav of Portaha- 5 said he farms marijuana every year and earns Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 in a season. A plant of marijuana gives half a kg of seeds, he said. There is no problem of market for marijuana seeds as Indian businessmen are its regular customers, he added.

Marijuana is smuggled to India

from the district hidden in tractors

or trucks laden with sand. Of the

total 76,000 hectares of arable land in Siraha, 15 per cent is covered with marijuana plants, said Harinaryan Yadav of Badharamal VDC. Meanwhile, marijuana farming is rapidly growing in Siraha, too. Over 40 quintals of marijuana seeds are produced in the district every year, police said. Last year, police destroyed marijuana farms on around 12 bighas of land at Bishnupurkatti, Gausadi, Jamdaha, Rajpur, Karjanha, said district police chief Ramesh Bhattarai.