Visakhapatnam: Tribal children, mostly poor and school dropouts, are increasingly being used to transport ganja (cannabis) from the Agency areas to the cities. In the last five years, the number of children booked for illegal transportation of ganja under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 has increased from just three in 2013 to 37 in 2017. Already 14 children have been booked till May, this year.Due to poverty, ignorance of law and its implications, they agree to the job in return of meagre pays of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. In most cases, children are unaware that they are being ensnared into illegal transactions. The cost of ganja in the Agency area is Rs 2,000-Rs 2,500 per kg and it is sold in the plains for Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,000/kg.Elaborating on the issue, panel advocate for Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and former member of state Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Abdul Raqueeb said, “Ganja cultivators do not sell or transport the substance. They depend on middlemen for transportation. These middlemen use children for the task nowadays. Lack of livelihood push teenage boys, often school dropouts, to fall prey to these middlemen, who pay them Rs 500-Rs 1,000 to handover the substance to the buyer. WhatsApp photos of the children, taken by middlemen, help buyers recognise the child at the end point. Non-tribal middlemen use children as they do not usually come under police scanner.”As per the data received from government sources, starting with three cases in 2013, six in 2014, seven in 2015, in the last two years, the numbers have gone up to 21 in 2016 and 37 in 2017. Already, 14 cases have been booked in the initial five months of this year. The police and excise department book cases under the NDPS Act. According to the police and excise department reports, ganja, thus transported, mostly in small quantity, are usually smuggled to nearby districts and adjacent areas of Odisha.“As per law, the lesser the weight of the substance, the lighter is the punishment. Therefore, ganja smugglers mostly transport dry ganja leaves in small amount, say a few kilograms. A bulk, which is less than 20 kgs, attracts punishment including a year of imprisonment and fine ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Whereas, if the bulk is above 20 kgs, penalty may extended to life imprisonment,” said the advocate.Former chairperson of state commission for the protection of child rights (SCPCR) and founder-director of Nature NGO S Balaraju added that not only dropout and hostel students, even tribal youth in their 20s are involved in the transportation of ganja and they are not aware of the legal consequences. “Through the tribal resource centre, we are providing legal education to around 260-270 such youth that we have identified, besides providing career guidance and skill development training,” he said.The Agency areas of Visakhapatnam district has become a hub for the cultivation and smuggling of ganja across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, some parts of Chhattisgarh. Officials from the prohibition and excise (enforcement) and police department destroyed ganja crop in nearly 3,800 acres last year. The enforcement officials are taking measures like digital mapping survey, GIST technology and drones to map the cultivation area and destroy the plants.

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