NARCOTIC HUNTING IN FORESTS

DESTROYING GANJA PLANTS

GANJA PLANTS DESTROYED BY OUR TEAM

       Working in the Forest has always been interesting. But, sometimes it is risky, dangerous from wild animals, reptiles which are known to everybody. In a dense forest like the Western Ghats, we are facing so many lethal factors from wood cutters, poachers, and narcotic plant cultivators. Narcotics in the sense, mostly Ganja cultivation inside the dense forests area, which is a menace, difficult to curb in time because of the poor staff strength, vast area of forest to be controlled by each forest staff. The front line staffs are always facing stringent actions and most of them are not aware of the poachers or Ganja cultivators.

Ganja cultivation inside the forest is more lucrative since one can earn lakhs and  lakhs within four or five months if they are succeeding in their operations, if without the interference of the forest, customs or police officials. It's very difficult to locate the Ganja field inside the forest area, and it needs a lot of experience, high intelligent networks. In Tamil Nadu, once Theni District is the most vulnerable district for Ganja cultivation. Many efforts are made by the forest officials continuously and they are curbed now.

During my service in the Theni Division, as Forest Ranger, we conducted many successful Ganja destruction raids with the Frontline staff, which one could not imagine the selection of the area by the cultivators, in which they had cleverly done the irrigation with pipes, hiding in the forest, run from mount to mount, all seemed to be the highest caliber  of irrigation engineering. Even in a metropolitan area, one cannot see such a wonderful irrigation system. In my experience, during those days for elephant poaching and for Ganja cultivation, people from Nedumangad district in Kerala and People from Parts of the Theni District are highly engaged. They are paid with high salaries. Only a limited number of people were engaged in the Ganja cultivation. The cultivators are well planned in their strategy,  whether it is selection of area for cultivation or shelter for labourers or food materials for months and their preparation, etc. At a later period, Ganja cultivation was almost stopped..

ORIGIN PLACE OF OLD COURTALLAM FALLS

During my young years when I had been working as a Forester in Courtallam,Tirunelveli District, more Ganja raids were conducted and almost all the cultivated Ganja plants were destroyed and set to fire. During one such raids, which in the year 1997, the area of Ganja plantation was near the origin of Old falls in Courtallam hills, which was very interior and one cannot see the plants and no one wandering there, since it was a high forest area and most elephants populated areas also, 4000 to 5000 feet MSL. I had seen, with my team that Ganja seeds were sown in the small beds, and the seedlings were planted in the main field. Fresh area apart one kilometer from the main area is cleared for the fresh planting. The entire area of the Ganja planting, the soil had made up to very spongy and the plants were well grown from 4 to 5 feet. We couldn't trace and found any culprit because they had easily escaped since their vision from the top of the hills was clear and easier.  Almost more than 2000 plants were destroyed and set to fire. The one or two labourers engaged in the work were staying in the nearby area, they had made even a temporary toilet facility with water.  When feeling bored one of the guys made an art in the rock nearby, which were shown in the photographs. In those days we were not equipped with cell phones or digital cameras, I have photographed with an ordinary Konica and recorded by all the team members.  If anyone was arrested he should be produced before the court, and the legal procedures should follow. These operations normally last for two to three days in the forests, and months together outside the forests to complete the legal procedures etc.

FIGURE DRAWN BY CHISELLING IN GANJA AREA BY A LABOUR

Another Ganja raid I have undertaken, with a special team was in Sivagiri Range of Tirunelveli Division along with the Sivagiri Ranger Thiru Jeya Perinba Kumar.  We have gone to the high altitude, probably the highest peak in Sivagiri hills, and reached the area where the other watershed was Thekkadi. From there one man was coming with the Ganja plants, which were collected from the destroyed Ganja area in Kerala Forests, We had noticed, hide and seek, and arrested and taken legal actions.