Thiruvananthapuram: The Forest Department has stepped up vigil against marijuana cultivation in wildlife sanctuaries in the State following the detection of a ganja plantation at Poomala, deep inside Chimmini forests, in Thrissur district on Sunday.

A team of wildlife enforcers led by the Assistant Wildlife Warden (Chimmini) K. A. Joseph and Forest Range Officer (Vellikulangara) P. Dhanesh Kumar, found the ganja plantation on 35 cents of forestland after it arrested two suspected drug cultivators on the basis of information given by tribals.

Those arrested were identified as George, 38, of Rajakkad and Georgekutty of Mankulam in Idukki. They were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Irinjalakuda, and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

The accused have been charged under relevant sections of the Wild Life Protection Act, Kerala Forest Act, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Eight other persons, including one `Veerappan' Joy, `Kadan' Kannan and `Thettithottathil' Subram, have also been named accused in the case (Crime OR/1/2006-Chimmini).

According to Forest department officials, the accused had destroyed ecologically fragile `shola' forests for preparing ground for planting three different varieties of ganja seedlings identified by local names such as `Chadayan', `Tapasy' and `Neela Chadayan.'

The Forest department seized the plants as evidence and destroyed a temporary habitat set up by the drug cultivators.

Official sources said `shola' forests were the natural choice for drug cultivators looking for relatively inaccessible forest areas to set up well-camouflaged ganja plantations.

The drug was also cultivated by clearing vast tracts of bamboo reeds.

Often ganja cultivators blocked forest streams for irrigating their crop.

Ganja plants are harvested when they flower within five months of planting.

A mature plant yields up to one kilogramme of ganja that could fetch more than Rs.5000 in the clandestine drug market.

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