By Satya Prakash
In recent years, Jharkhand has grappled with a concerning trend: Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Ghumla, and Giridh have been developed as the Golden Triangle of opium cultivation.
The trade of drugs (brown sugar, opium, ganja, Doda, or other intoxicants) is highest in 24 police stations in different districts of the state. From the year 2019 to 2023, a total of 2396 cases were registered under the NDPS Act regarding the recovery of narcotics and psychotropic substances in all the districts of the state.
It is clear that there are 24 police stations in the state in whose area the maximum cases were registered regarding the recovery of Brown Sugar, Opium, Ganja, Doda, or other intoxicants. It is clear from this that the drug trade is most prevalent in these police station areas. Chatra district is at the top of this list. Here, during the said period, the maximum number of cases registered under the NDPS Act was 506, i.e., 21 percent.
In these figures, in the year 2020, there were 170 arrests under the NDPS Act, and in 2021, this figure was 300, whereas in 2022 (till June 31), this figure reached only 76. The recovery of opium decreased from 316 kg in 2020 to 204 kg in 2021 and to only 34 kg in 2022 (till June 31). While in the last two years, more than 30 vehicles were seized every year, in 2022 only 2 vehicles have been seized until June 31.
The Statistics indicate that cases of opium cultivation are decreasing in Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti, and Gumla, where the Naxal has influence. Opium cultivation has taken place in dozens of villages in Akta, Argodi, Anidih, Takara, Hatugami, Chukru, Remta, Sadasom, Siladon, and Bhoot, including Adki, Murhu, and other blocks of Khunti district.
The state has a big challenge: the youth have become addicted to drugs and have entered the world of crime to fulfil their drug habit. The children of poor farmers, who earlier used to earn their living by farming and laboring for the glitter of money and royal luxury in the village, are now looking at the youth of their village, who are cultivating opium and roaming around in expensive bikes and four-wheelers. Now that the youth of the village have gotten involved in opium cultivation, those who are not doing farming have to buy and sell opium by becoming agents of opium smugglers.
Why is opium cultivated in Jharkhand?
Due to the maximum 50 percent forest area in the entire state, such land is easily available to the people for growing opium. Which is neither private property nor easily accessible, which gives them a safe haven for opium cultivators. The team of Legal Boundary checked the facts from Dhodhiya, Duragada, Morniya, Jamuniyatari, Murtiya, Silodar, Ahri, Nawadih, and Danua between the forest plateau of Daihar and Chordahabordering Chauparan block of Hazaribagh district and reveled. In this area, the drug trade has been going on for the last decade by cultivating opium on a large scale. Although police action has been taken against drugs, the police have failed to curb the drug trade.
Is Jharkhand Becoming the Next Golden Triangle/Golden Crescent (Mini Afghanistan)?
Opium cultivation started in the Chatra area, after which Khunti district became the hub of opium. Due to being a Naxal belt, the police also avoided going to these areas. Opium is cultivated on a large scale, and its flowers and fruits are visible from a distance. Is there a collusion between the police and the forest department in this?
Shekhar Gupta, Resident of Chatra, said that due to the geographical location of Jharkhand, the police are not able to get every important piece of information, due to which opium cultivation in many areas is not destroyed. He also added that Jharkhand’s opium became a ‘black diamond’ for traders, supplied from Europe to Pakistan via Nepal and Bangladesh. Opium plants have grown on 1000 acres in more than 30 villages in Latehar. It is also being cultivated on a large scale in Palamu, Lohardaga, Khunti, and Ramgarh. A cultivator said that 40 kg of opium is produced on one acre of land, and it is sold for Rs 25 thousand per kg in the local market. However, the price in the international market is Rs one lakh per kg. In Chatra and Khunti District only, the crop has been grown on 3 thousand acres, and 1200 quintals of opium will be produced from them.
Vicky Kumar, a Resident of Koderma, it’s disheartening to witness the rampant sale and consumption of substances like brown sugar, opium, ganja, and Doda in our community, particularly in the slum areas and nearby university campus and hostels . Despite the limited agriculture of these substances, they are openly sold and consumed in shops and residences. It’s concerning that even the police authorities are aware of these activities, yet little action is taken to address the issue. It’s high time for authorities to take decisive steps to curb this menace and ensure the safety and well-being of our community.
Market and Trade
The opium grown in the state is transported to the markets in UP, Punjab, and Kolkata by road. There are big businessmen and transporters behind the scenes, but local brokers are employed for smuggling. As soon as opium production begins, the brokers themselves reach the fields. The job of these brokers is to transport opium from here to the markets in UP and Kolkata. After this, big traders transport it to Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangladesh.
According to the police, businessmen from Banaras and Gorakhpur are more involved in this. The Jharkhand High Court has taken it seriously. The division bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai took suo motu cognizance of the case and converted it into a public interest litigation. The division bench orally said that the illegal drug trade in the state is worrying. The lives of youth are being ruined due to drug addiction. Addiction is affecting their health. Strict action should be taken against those involved in the drug trade so that this illegal trade can be completely stopped.
