SWABI, April 20: The anti-poppy cultivation drive launched in far-flung areas of Gadoon belt would continue till the banned crop was completely wiped out, officials said here on Saturday, claiming poppy grown on 842 kanals had already been destroyed there.

The growers belonging to the Naranji area have voluntarily destroyed the crop on the persuasion of parliamentarians, jirga members and officials of the local administration.

The growers had put forward some demands, which were accepted by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MNA Mohammad Usman.

In the mountainous areas of Gadoon, the officials said, they had destroyed the poppy crop and cases had also been registered against nine people, who resisted the action.

So far, they said, no one has been arrested and the persons against whom cases were registered had gone underground.

The local administration, they said, had already made it clear that those who resisted the government orders would face the penalty, but the first priority was to accomplish the mission peacefully.