Bhubaneswar, July 3: Illegal opium cultivation is rapidly expanding across several districts of Odisha, with dense forest areas, particularly along the West Bengal and Jharkhand border, emerging as major hotspots. Investigators believe the illicit trade is being sustained through an organised network that allegedly recruits skilled labourers from Jharkhand and transports them to Odisha for cultivation and harvesting.
According to sources, labourers are specially brought in by vehicles and remain in the cultivation sites for nearly five to six months, from sowing to harvest. Local agents reportedly arrange their transportation, food and accommodation. These workers are said to possess the expertise required to make precise incisions on opium pods during harvesting, a task that local labourers are often unable to perform efficiently.
Over the past few years, enforcement agencies have repeatedly uncovered and destroyed large-scale illegal opium plantations across the state, indicating the growing spread of the narcotic crop.
Among the major seizures and destruction drives, authorities seized 9.94 kg of opium from a car in Harichandanpur of Keonjhar district in July 2022. In March 2024, the Special Task Force (STF) recovered 10.508 kg of opium in Rourkela.
During the same month, more than 5.25 lakh opium plants, valued at around ₹10.66 crore, were destroyed inside the core area of Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district. Additional plantations were also destroyed in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Angul and Nabarangpur districts during 2024 and 2026, with officials estimating the value of the destroyed crops to be several crores of rupees.
Government data indicate that opium plants worth nearly ₹40 crore were destroyed in Similipal alone during 2024 and 2025. In 2026, authorities reportedly destroyed illegal cultivation valued at around ₹5 crore in Angul and ₹7 crore in Keonjhar.
Investigators say the cultivation follows a highly organised pattern. Sowing generally begins in November after deep ploughing of the land, followed by the application of organic manure and repeated irrigation using tankers or large drums, often transported by motorcycles due to the absence of motorable roads. Fertilisers are added as the crop grows, and harvesting begins in late February when the pods mature.
To conceal the plantations, cultivators reportedly select remote forest clearings surrounded by dense vegetation. During harvesting, shallow cuts are made on the pods using sharp blades, allowing the latex to ooze out. The latex is then collected in earthen pots, where it dries into raw opium. The dried pods are later processed into poppy husk, commonly known as "posta," which is sold in local markets.
Officials also believe that all opium produced in Odisha eventually enters the illegal narcotics market. The harvested opium is allegedly stored in sealed earthen pots before being packed and smuggled across state borders by concealing it inside consignments of other goods.
Former Odisha Excise Commissioner Sudarshan Nayak said the cultivation and harvesting methods closely resemble organised narcotics operations seen elsewhere in the country. While opium can be chemically processed into heroin (commonly known as brown sugar), he noted that no processing units have yet been officially detected in Odisha.
Nayak also recalled that Odisha's first known illegal opium plantation was detected in Kalahandi district in 2004, where an outsider had allegedly begun experimental cultivation on forest land. He suggested that satellite imagery and drone surveillance should be extensively used to identify plantations hidden inside dense forests and destroy them through targeted operations. He also called for strict action against everyone found responsible, including landowners and officials if any complicity is established.
A senior police officer said nearly 70 per cent of the illegal opium cultivation in Odisha is taking place on forest land, while the remaining 30 per cent is on revenue land. The officer argued that cultivating such crops inside forests requires access to water, farming equipment and logistical support, raising questions about how such large-scale operations continue undetected. The officer suggested that accountability should be fixed wherever evidence of negligence or collusion exists.
Forest Department officials, however, rejected allegations of complicity. A senior official said the department's primary responsibility is protecting forests and wildlife and those periodic coordination meetings are held with district authorities to share intelligence. The official maintained that monitoring every patch of forest to detect illegal cultivation is beyond the department's operational capacity.
Wildlife photographer and environmentalist Pramod Dal expressed concern over the recurring discovery of opium plantations inside protected forests, including the core area of Similipal Tiger Reserve. He questioned how large groups of people could repeatedly enter protected forest zones, cultivate illegal crops and carry out harvesting without someone noticing, and called for greater accountability from all agencies responsible for safeguarding the state's forest resources.
