Satellite Images To Be Used To Curb Ganja Cultivation

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu has ordered officials to implement measures against the cultivation of ganja. He has ordered strict action against people involved in the same. The state government will make use of satellite images to help curb the ganja menace.

The Prohibition and Excise Department will be taking up the task. The first time in the country when similar tactics were employed, the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN) – a part of the Department of Space, Government of India, was able to successfully locate the areas where ganja was being cultivated in the dense forests of Vizag.

After three patches were zeroed in on, the Prohibition and Excise Department had gone in with the armed forces to these areas to confirm the cultivation of ganja and curb it. The crops were destroyed immediately and the tribals warned against its cultivation. Now, the Andhra Pradesh CM has ordered strict action against the people involved in cultivating ganja.

The Director of Enforcement, Prohibition and Excise Department, K Venkateswara Rao told The New Indian Express, “Yes, the ADRIN experiments helped us locate ganja cultivation areas. The excise and police officials visited the three locations which have been spotted with the help of satellite images and destroyed the ganja crop. The coordination committee is also chalking out plans to take up preventive measures to put a logical end to ganja cultivation in the dense forests.”

*Image used for representational purpose only