November 17, 2003	Monday	Ramazan 21, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Nov 16: Despite ban on cultivation of poppy in the remote areas known for the opium production, an unusual upsurge in the poppy cultivation has been reported by the government monitoring agencies.

According to reports, the people have opted for the poppy crop this year in three hilly districts of the province, which include Kohistan, Upper Dir and Gadoon, a ragged enclave running upward along River Indus in Swabi.

Most of the growers say they have no other alternative, but to cultivate poppy to meet their livelihood. These remote areas even lack the infrastructure essential for the industrialization process and development of the social sectors.

Sources in the home and tribal affairs department say that the monitoring reports confirmed the cultivation of poppy in Kohistan, some parts of Upper Dir and Gadoon Amazai belt of Swabi district.

Describing reasons for the upsurge in the poppy cultivation in Kohistan, an official said that this menace could be abolished if ban on tree cutting was lifted as it was the only alternative left with the rural people lacking employment opportunities. In the past, the government had banned the cultivation of trees in order to encourage the development of the forest, he maintained.

He said: “The persistent ban on tree-cutting is a major reason of the poppy cultivation in the area,” he observed.

This year, there are reports of poppy cultivation in Upper Dir and Swabi, which has compounded many problems for the government. Earlier, the Upper Dir administration had failed to eliminate the opium production in the district due to the non-cooperation of the law-enforcement agencies. The district administration was not much satisfied with the kind of assistance offered by the law -enforcement agencies.

It may be recalled that two months ago a high level meeting had expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of law-enforcement agencies for not cooperating with the district administration in their drive against the poppy cultivation. The meeting had also taken a strong note of the law-enforcement agencies and directed them to provide full assistance to the district administration to curb the growing menace of poppy cultivation.

The government had directed specially to the administration of Buner, Swabi, Upper and Lower Dir, all settled areas, to keep vigil on poppy cultivation. The home and tribal affairs department had already directed all the district coordination officers to lodge FIRs under the Narcotics Control Substance Act, 1997 against those involved in the poppy cultivation.

Despite having a legal cover, the administration is hesitant to take any action against the poppy growers in these districts. This year, official figures suggest that the poppy was grown on an estimated 2,000 acres, of which the poppy crop standing on the 50 acres was destroyed by the growers. The government had destroyed the poppy crop cultivated on 150 acres in the Upper Dir last year.

The statistics revealed that still the standing poppy crop was spread over 1,900 acres. The home and tribal affairs department had directed to the Upper Dir and Swabi district administrations to investigate into the matter and apprehend the violators. The home department has also proposed to the chief minister to hold a meeting of the law-enforcement agencies, public representatives of Kohistan and the secretary forest on the issue for finding out a permanent solution.