Kathmandu, October 8

Police destroyed marijuana plants growing wild in over 30 ropanis of land in Tarakeshwor Municipality-1 on the outskirts of Kathmandu today.

According to Metroplitan Police Circle, Balaju, DSP Nabin Krishna Bhandari-led team of 55 cops equipped with necessary logistics got rid of the marijuana plants in Uppallogaun, Kunchipwakal, Devkortathok and Dhakalchour of the municipality. Earlier, a separate team of over 50 police personnel had destroyed weeds in Manamaiju area.

Officials said more than 50,000 marijuana plants were uprooted and destroyed. Marijuana plants are also being destroyed 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, police said.

Recently, the Narcotics Control Bureau, in association with local police, destroyed weeds cultivated in over 1,100 ropanis of land at Chilaune, Okhreni and Mulkharka of Gokarneshwor Municipality. 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. The NCB has already destroyed marijuana plants in more than 4,500 ropanis of land in the Valley over a period of three 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. According to police, clandestine cultivation of cannabis is rampant elsewhere in the country, as it provides the farmers with better returns than other food crops.