On Thursday, police destroyed around 20,000 marijuana plants cultivated at Aathghare in Thori Rural Municipality, Parsa.

During the clean-up campaign of illegal marijuana farming on Tuesday and Wednesday, police destroyed around 1,000 marijuana plants in Paterwasugauli and 2,500 marijuana plants in Thori.

On a daily basis, police personnel have been deployed to destroy marijuana plantations in the municipality, said Birendra Bahadur Shahi, deputy superintendent of police in District Police Office, Parsa. But no individuals have been arrested on the charge of cultivating marijuana.

Until a decade ago, Parsa was renowned for marijuana and opium cultivation. The then Superintendent of Police Rajendraman Shrestha had cracked down on the illegal farming of the plants and thus the contraband plantation came to an end in the area.

Processed marijuana costs around Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 (per kg) in Nepal and the same amount will be sold up to IRs 13,000 to 15,000 in India. Because of this, there are many middlemen engaged in illegal business to make more money.

Illegal farming of marijuana can also be seen in the vicinity of Parsa and Chitwan National Parks, forest areas and some lonely areas in the district. Shahi said, “Acting on a tip off, we have been destroying marijuana farming in many areas. Yet people have been cultivating marijuana inconspicuously.”

The demand for marijuana is so high that smugglers come to the locals' doorsteps to purchase the product. Youths also have been purchasing this contraband on a regular basis. According to police personnel involved in the clean-up campaign, the owner of the land plots (where marijuana plants were cultivated) could not be found in most of the areas. Shahi said, “Locals often try to escape the police or remain silent if they are asked about the landowners. Due to this, we have been unable to make any arrests.”

The District Police Office has been formulating a phase-wise programme to give continuity to the campaign. According to Shahi, they also intend to organise awareness programmes for the locals. “It takes time to change the mindset of the locals who have been engaged in the business for long. That’s why awareness programmes should be organised,” he said.