SHILLONG: Some members of non-Christian tribes spread in a few pockets of South West Garo Hills are cultivating ganja in the name of God by saying that the cultivation is for religious purpose.
At a function to observe International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in the district on Thursday, the police chief R. Muthu said, “Ganja is being cultivated in many households of the area in the name of God but is eventually being largely misused and sold illegally as drugs. He also warned of strict action against those households who would take up ganja plantation in future.
When contacted, Muthu said that the ganja cultivation is in limited pockets in 10 to 15 villages in South West Garo Hills.
“We came across that every house hold we identified had one ganja plant each and they told us that they cultivate them for the purpose of puja and they were mostly Hindu tribes”, Muthu said.