The Dehradun district magistrate Ravinath Raman has directed officials to raise awareness against the illegal cultivation of opium poppy in areas of the district where it traditionally cultivated. The DM informed that at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Shatrughna Singh, one of the facts that emerged was that farmers in the Chakrata, Tyuni and Kalsi areas of the Dehradun district have been traditionally cultivating the opium poppy at various places. The farmers also make use of the poppy seeds in food items. The DM reminded that such cultivation of the opium poppy is totally prohibited under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985. Raman directed all the sub divisional magistrates of the district along with officials of the horticulture and agriculture departments to issue warnings to farmers to desist from cultivation of such crops. The farmers should also be made aware of the provisions and regulations of the NDPS Act. The farmers should also be encouraged to grow other crops instead of the opium poppy in order to strengthen the financial condition of the farmers. The DM also directed the chief development officer to ensure wider publicity of this Act and related issues in the Gram Sabha and block Panchayat meetings also. The sub divisional magistrate, Tehsildar, block development officer of Chakrata, Tyuni and Kalsi, chief agriculture officer, district horticulture officer to undertake a campaign in areas with possibility of illegal opium cultivation in order to clamp down on such cultivation. Such crops should be destroyed and information about such activities should be submitted to the district administration, said Raman.