Fresh ganja cultivation on forest land near Indo-Bangladesh border cause of concern: BSF

Sepahijala (Tripura) [India], December 31 : Deputy Inspector General of Border Security Force (BSF) Gokul Nagar sector, Tripura, Rakesh Ranjan Lal has expressed concern over fresh ganja plantation in forest areas at the bordering stretches of India and Bangladesh.
According to the senior BSF official, the scale of new plantations is rising at par with the efforts being made by the BSF for detection, seizure and destruction.
Addressing a press conference at sector headquarters, Lal said, "In the forest region, ganja plantation is the key issue. We are trying our best. The rate of our success is higher in the detection and seizure of Ganja in the forest areas. But, at the same time, new plantations are also taking place at the same pace. So, we have to strike a balance and combat the situation at borders."
On being asked whether the BSF is eager to devise any special technique to fight this problem, he said, "Definitely, we have enough technical backup to fight this out but I have reservations to divulge all these things in front of the press."
He had also appreciated the role of the Bangladesh border's guarding force in battling the border crimes and said that the relations between both the forces had been "excellent" so far. "Both the forces have their own limitations but we work in close coordination to control border crimes", said Lal.
Presenting details of the recently conducted operations, the BSF DIG said, "In the year 2021 smuggled goods including ganja, banned syrup, narcotic substances, cattle and other miscellaneous articles worth over Rs 27 crore were seized."
In the series of such operations, he said, acting on specific BSF intelligence input, on December 28, 2021 in the evening hours, BSF troops successfully seized 29,580 Yaba tablets of estimated market value of Rs 1,47,90,000 near Indo-Bangladesh Border Fence, behind Lucherbari school under Anandpur, Sonamura, of Sepahijala district.
Besides that, he added, on the intervening night of December 28 and 29 BSF troops also succeeded in seizing various other contraband items having collective market value of Rs. 15,78,138.
Apart from that, the BSF troops also detained four Bangladeshi nationals and an Indian tout from Srimantapur border outpost area.
"Further, on specific BSF intelligence input, troops of Srimantapur (BOP) foiled a trans-border infiltration attempt and apprehended four Bangladeshi Nationals along with an Indian tout. During preliminary questioning, they revealed their identity as Abdul Jalil, Helena Begum, Baby Akhtar, Md Jakharia, all residents of Surjya Nagar, under Bangladesh's Commilla district. An Indian tout Rafikul Islam was also detained during the same operation. An FIR has been lodged and all the apprehended persons were handed over to the local police", he added.