Ganja worth Rs 5 lakh destroyed

: A total of 18.7 kg of ganja, worth Rs five lakh, seized between 2008 and 2011 from various persons have been destroyed by the Dakshina Kannada district administration on a court order
As all the relevant cases had been disposed off, the court ordered the Deputy Commissioner and other officials to destroy the narcotic. Several bundles of ganja were set afire at the DC's office yesterday after the court order, an official release said here.
Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said the ganja was destroyed openly to convey the message among the public, especially the younger generation, that the substance was dangerous to society. All attempts would be made to make society drug-free, he said.

Based on information that ganja was being grown in some forest areas under the Western Ghats, officials had been alerted. The state government was taking serious steps to tackle the menace, he said in the release.
Dakshina Kannada district excise deputy Commissioner L A Manjunath said the DC had given them orders to prevent peddling of drugs. Raids had already been conducted in Puttur, Bantwal and other areas, he added.