Illegal Cultivation

Seizing over 15 lakh opium plants, the Himachal Pradesh Police have destroyed the illegal cultivation of poppy plants in nearly 66 bighas of land. The plants were cultivated on a hilltop in Mandi district and the policemen took nearly two days to destroy the illegal crop. Mandi SP Shalini Agnihotri said that "around 330 kilos of opium could have been produced" with an estimated market price of Rs 10 crore.