Vijayawada: AP has turned into ganja hub under YSRCP regime, alleges Lokesh

Vijayawada : TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh on Wednesday came down heavily on the State government for not taking any measures to curb the ganja menace.

Pointing out that earlier, funds used to be released every year for destroying the ganja plantations, Lokesh wondered why releasing of such funds was stopped after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has become the Chief Minister.

In a press release here, Lokesh expressed serious concern stating that abuse of ganja and other drugs was alarmingly on the rise in the State. Wherever ganja was seized in any part of the country the roots were being found to be from Andhra Pradesh, he regretted.

"The State government which is supposed to control the abuse of ganja is simply sitting idle which is giving room for various doubts," Lokesh said. Whichever party is in power, every December funds are released to destroy the ganja plantations and farms across the Andhra-Odisha border, he said, adding that this operation is performed jointly by the departments of Excise, Police, Revenue, Mining and other wings of both Andhra Pradesh and from the neighbouring Odisha.

"During the TDP regime, funds were released every December for all the five years to destroy these ganja plantations on a largescale across the border of the two States," Lokesh recalled.

What is surprising is that though it is almost five years since the YSRCP came to power not even a single year budget was allocated for this purpose, he stated.

At least the officials concerned did not conduct any review meeting on the alarming growth of ganja plantations, he said. It is really shameful that Andhra Pradesh has turned into a ganja hub under the YSRCP regime and it has transformed the State into a capital for drug abuse, he said.

The TDP national general secretary alleged that the ruling YSRCP leaders were behind the ganja smuggling from the State due to which the operations generally conducted in December every year to destroy the ganja plantations were totally brought to a halt. Lokesh demanded a clear explanation from the Chief Minister on the issue.