The inaccessible hamlets inhabited by the Bonda tribes, one of the country’s most primitive tribal groups living in Malkangiri district have come under the grip of outlawed hemp cultivation with the local police destroying about 65,000 hemp plants in a special drive against ganja cultivation.

“In continuation of a special drive against ganja cultivation Mudulipada Police team has destroyed Cannabis plants cultivated in about an acre of land in Badadural area. In this process about 65,000 plants were destroyed”, Malkangiri police stated in a tweet.

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It’s a disturbing trend. Hitherto, the villages where the Bonda Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) lived were free from ganja cultivation. Police and excise personnel will conduct a joint initiative to sensitize the Bondas and will attempt to dissuade the primitive tribes from undertaking illegal ganja cultivation, said a senior police official.

Cannabis, a banned substance, is churned out from hemp plants. Odisha is one of the leading cannabis producing States in India while eight districts- Kandhamal, Boudh, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Malkangiriand Nayagarh- are widely regarded as the epicenter of hemp cultivation.

The destruction of the hemp plantation is still continuing in the areas and villages through collection of local intelligence. The police administration has already decided to apply satellite imagery and drone technology to locate the areas of illegal cultivation and destroy those before harvesting, said the police official.

The administration has launched a drive to identify the tribal poor families who are living on this trade and provide them alternative livelihood opportunities through convergence of Odisha Livelihood Mission, National Livelihood Mission, MGNREGS, high return cash crop, goatery, poultry, integrated farming and similar other schemes, said officials of Malkangiri district administration.

Hemp cultivation has emerged as a money-minting source of income. The poor people living in forest-side villages are often ensnared by middlemen and agents of drug smuggling rackets.

Odisha is home to a diverse group of 62 Scheduled Tribe communities and 13 PVTGs.

Bondas, a PVTG group, are ensconced along the hilly and forested terrains of Khairput Block in Malkangiri district. They inhabit mainly in Mudulipada, Andrahall, Kadamguda, Podaghat, Rasabeda and Badadural villages. As per 2011 census, there are 1436 Bonda families with their population being around 12,000.