Tripura eradication campaigns (2026)
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Tripura eradication campaigns (2026) covers cannabis eradication and trafficking interdiction reporting from Tripura, India, during 2026. Activity concentrated in Sepahijala district, with a single late-March interdiction in West Tripura district traceable to a Bishalgarh sub-division cultivation site documented in late 2025.
A 16 March 2026 written reply to the Tripura Legislative Assembly reported that 12,479.98 hectares of cannabis cultivation had been destroyed across 2023, 2024 and 2025, with 52,425,791 plants destroyed and 793 anti-cannabis drives conducted in the period. Two individuals were arrested for cannabis cultivation and 15 others arrested for obstructing destruction drives over the same window. Sepahijala recorded the highest extent of destroyed cultivation of any district in the period.[1]
Background
A 3 January 2026 operation at Kalamchoura in Sonamura sub-division destroyed approximately 1,900,000 immature cannabis plants on 650 acres. Sonamura Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tapan Das described the operation as the largest single-day cannabis destruction in Tripura's record. Sepahijala Additional Superintendent of Police Rajib Sutradhar said law enforcement increasingly uses drone surveillance to detect cultivation in remote forest areas before launching coordinated ground operations.[2]
A 3 February 2026 analysis by Tripura Info Senior Journalist and Editor Jayanta Debnath argued that growing cannabis cultivation in Tripura's hill regions reflected a failure of state and central development policy in tribal and non-tribal villages, with horticulture and agricultural support funds not reaching intended beneficiaries. Debnath wrote that during ground visits to plantation sites and conversations with cultivators and police personnel, he found that most cultivators were poor villagers without viable alternative livelihoods, and that destruction drives without rehabilitation drove cultivators back to the trade. The article cited a retired senior police officer's recollection of a detailed cannabis-cultivation report submitted in the late 1990s on interior areas including Pecharthal and Bishalgarh, with proposals for high-yield alternative farming that were not pursued. The article concluded with a recommendation that the state either legalise cannabis cultivation or create genuine alternative livelihoods.[3]
A follow-up 19 February 2026 analysis by Debnath described cannabis cultivation as having spread across nearly all districts and sub-divisions of the state, framed it as a "drug siege", and made two further claims. First, that beyond a small number of ministers and legislators, political leaders from both ruling and opposition camps had not been vocal against the expanding narcotics network, with certain leaders alleged to have actively opposed police-led destruction drives in their areas and mobilised local residents against operations. Second, that police lacked adequate storage for seized cannabis and routinely burned contraband in the fields, drawing environmental concerns about smoke and air pollution.[4]
Map
Sub-divisional reporting
Sepahijala: Sonamura sub-division
January operations
On 3 January 2026, a joint Border Security Force, Tripura State Rifles, Tripura Police and Forest Department operation destroyed approximately 1,900,000 immature cannabis plants on nearly 650 acres of forest land in the North Kalamchoura, South Kalamchoura, Anandapur and Ghatigarh forest areas. Officials estimated the destroyed material at approximately ₹100 crore. Around 600 personnel were deployed. The operation was led by the Commandants of BSF Battalions 81 and 42 alongside the Additional Superintendent of Police Sepahijala. No arrests were made; cultivation was reported as taking place on encroached forest land.[2]
On 7 January 2026, an Assam Rifles-led joint operation with the Border Security Force, Tripura Police, Tripura State Rifles, the Forest Department and district administration destroyed approximately 600,000 young plants across 65 plots covering about 200 acres in the general area of Dhanpur, Induria, Kaichyakhola and Dhanmura villages, around 66 km south of Agartala. The operation spanned three police-station jurisdictions: Sonamura, Melagarh and Kalamchoura. Officials estimated the destroyed material at approximately ₹36 crore.[5]
On 28 January 2026, Assam Rifles destroyed cannabis cultivation across more than 58 acres in the Boxanagar area, in a joint operation with the Sepahijala district police, Tripura State Rifles and the Forest Department. Approximately 145,000 cannabis saplings were uprooted across multiple plots, valued at approximately ₹14.5 crore. No arrests were made.[6]
On 29 January 2026, a Sonamura Police Station-led joint operation destroyed approximately 180,000 mature plants across 41 cultivation plots covering approximately 65 acres in the Kamalanagar, Krishnadola, Dulunga and Bijoy Nagar areas, valued at approximately ₹27 crore. The operation lasted nine hours. Personnel included the 81 Battalion Border Security Force, the 5th, 9th, 11th and 14th Battalions of the Tripura State Rifles, the 14th Battalion Women Tripura State Rifles and the 35 Battalion Assam Rifles.[7]
February operations
Between 1 and 2 February 2026, a Sonamura Police Station-led joint operation destroyed approximately 500,000 cannabis plants across 92 cultivation plots covering around 170 acres in the Dulunga forest area. The 1 February drive ran from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Officials estimated the destroyed crop at approximately ₹75 crore. Personnel included Sonamura and Jatrapur Police Stations, the Sepahijala District Armed Police, multiple BSF battalions, the Tripura State Rifles, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Sonamura Forest Division. According to the source, the operation continued despite reported resistance from villagers and alleged smugglers, and some cultivators were reported to have pleaded with security forces to spare crops, citing financial hardships including daughters' marriages and family sustenance.[8]
On 3 February 2026, Assam Rifles destroyed approximately 175,000 cannabis saplings spread across nearly 50 acres in the Boxanagar area, in a joint operation with the Forest Department, valued at approximately ₹25.72 crore.[9]
On 3 February 2026, Sonamura Police destroyed approximately 15,000 mature cannabis plants across seven plots covering nearly five acres of forest land in the Rangamathia and Bholamura areas, in a joint operation with the 11th and 14th Battalion Tripura State Rifles, between 2:30 pm and 5:45 pm. The team also seized 136 kg of dried cannabis packed in two large packets and four sacks. Police treated the seized material as unclaimed and registered a case. The operation was led by Sonamura Police Station Officer-in-Charge Inspector Tapas Das.[10]
On 5 February 2026, a Sonamura Police Station-led joint operation destroyed approximately 90,000 mature plants across 25 plots in the Mainama, Aralia and Paoramura forest areas, covering around 32 acres, valued at approximately ₹13.5 crore. The operation began at 9:00 am with personnel from the 81 Battalion Border Security Force, the 5th, 9th, 11th and 14th Battalions of the Tripura State Rifles, the 14th Battalion Women TSR, the 35 Battalion Assam Rifles and the Sonamura Forest Division.[11]
On 15 February 2026, a Sonamura Police Station-led joint operation destroyed approximately 80,000 mature plants across 30 plots in the Kamalanagar, Krishna Dola and Ghatigarh forest areas, covering around 30 acres, valued at approximately ₹12 crore. The operation began at 7:00 am.[12]
Sepahijala: Bishalgarh sub-division and the Konaban–Amtali interdiction
No destruction operations in Bishalgarh sub-division were reported in the 2026 window covered by this page. A late-March interdiction in West Tripura district connected to a Bishalgarh-area cultivation site.
On 27–28 March 2026, Amtali Police seized approximately 578 kg of dried cannabis packed in 17 packets at a naka checkpoint on the Amtali bypass road near Agartala, West Tripura district, and arrested one suspect. Officials estimated the seized material at approximately ₹60 lakh. The accused was identified as Prasenjit Debnath of Konaban under Madhupur Police Station, Sepahijala. He was apprehended while transporting the contraband in a goods auto-rickshaw. The interception was led by Amtali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Paritosh Das with Sub-Inspector Ranabrata Ghosh and Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles personnel.[13]
Konaban falls under Madhupur Police Station jurisdiction in Bishalgarh sub-division, where a 30 November 2025 destruction operation had previously been conducted at Kartailya and Konaban.citation needed
Timeline
See also
References
- ↑ "Sepahijala has highest cannabis cultivation in Tripura, says CM Saha". Tripura Info. 16 March 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Tripura: Over 19 lakh ganja plants worth Rs 100 crore destroyed in Sepahijala". NENow. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ Debnath, Jayanta (3 February 2026). "Tripura cannabis cultivation in hills reflects failed development policy". Tripura Info. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ Debnath, Jayanta (19 February 2026). "Tripura faces 'drug siege' as some leaders allegedly oppose cannabis destruction drives". Tripura Info. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Over 30 lakh ganja plants worth Rs 145 crore destroyed in Tripura in 10 days". NEHerald. January 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Assam Rifles destroys illicit ganja cultivation worth Rs 14.5 cr in Tripura". NEHerald. 28 January 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Over 5 lakh cannabis plants worth Rs 75 crore destroyed in Tripura anti-narcotics drive". India Today NE. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tripura police destroy over 5 lakh ganja plants worth Rs 75 cr in Sepahijala district". NEHerald. February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tripura: Assam Rifles destroy ₹25.72 crore ganja cultivation spread over 50 acres in Boxanagar". Northeast Today. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tripura: Police Destroys 15,000 Cannabis Plants, Seizes 136 kg of Dry Ganja in Major Crackdown". Northeast Live TV. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Sonamura Police destroyed 25 plots eliminating nearly 90 thousand ganja trees worth approx 13.5 crores". Tripura Star News. 5 February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Sonamura Police destroyed 30 nos ganja plots eliminating nearly 80 thousand ganja trees worth approx 12 crores". Tripura Star News. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tripura police seize Rs 60 lakh worth cannabis, arrest smuggler in Agartala". India Today NE. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.