20,876 kg of ganja destroyed in Andhra Pradesh; police report elimination of cultivation

The Visakhapatnam Range police on Thursday destroyed 20,876 kg of ganja and 23.68 kg of hashish oil, valued at over ₹20 crore, at an incinerator in the Coastal Waste Management Plant at JN Pharma City in Parawada, Anakapalli district.

Home Minister V. Anitha, Pendurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, and Visakha Range Inspector General Gopinath Jatti oversaw the destruction process. Superintendents of police from districts under the Visakha Range also attended.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Anitha stated that establishing a drug-free society is a government priority. She said the government is cracking down on ganja trafficking networks while promoting alternative crops in tribal areas to improve farmers' livelihoods. Large-scale awareness programmes are being conducted in educational institutions to prevent youth from falling into drug abuse, she added. The government is coordinating with interstate and international agencies to dismantle narcotics networks and freeze offenders' assets.

IGP Gopinath Jatti said the ‘Zero Cultivation’ target set in July 2024 was achieved by January 2026. He noted that ganja cultivation in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district, which stood at 7,515.15 acres during 2021-22, has been eliminated through continuous surveillance, drone monitoring, and promotion of alternative crops. The success is attributed to law enforcement measures as well as employment generation, counselling programmes, and community outreach in tribal areas.

Since July 2024, the Visakhapatnam Range Police have registered 1,142 NDPS cases, arrested 3,377 accused persons, and recovered about 65,560 kg of ganja and 83.19 kg of hashish oil. They also seized 832 vehicles used for narcotics transportation.

The IGP said that to weaken the financial networks of drug traffickers, properties worth ₹11.02 crore belonging to 18 accused persons in 19 cases were frozen. The police initiated proposals against 132 habitual offenders under the PIT-NDPS Act, resulting in the detention of 51 persons. Additionally, 1,942 history sheets were opened against repeat offenders.

During 2025-26, authorities distributed 1.59 crore saplings and 37,678 quintals of seeds, encouraging alternative crop cultivation over 29,840 acres in tribal areas. Skill development programmes have provided employment to 415 people, aiming to keep tribal youth from being drawn into ganja transport. On de-addiction initiatives, 258 people suffering from substance abuse have been referred to de-addiction centres for treatment and rehabilitation.

ASR SP Amit Bardar, Anakapalli SP Tuhin Sinha, Vizianagaram SP A.R. Damodar, Parvathipuram Manyam SP S.V. Madhav Reddy, Srikakulam SP K.V. Maheshwar Reddy and others were present.