By Shiva Kumar Kashi
Hetauda, July 27: Apart from the federal capital Kathmandu, Makawanpur has topped the list of drug trafficking districts of Bagmati Province.
According to the Bagmati Provincial Police Office, the district beat the other ten districts in drug trafficking cases.
Of the drug cases registered in the fiscal year 2020/2021, more people have been arrested from the district than in other districts of the province, and the number of registered cases is also higher there.
In the fiscal year 2019/2020, the number of drug cases registered in Makawanpur was 124 and 183 people were arrested on drug-related charges. That number slightly decreased in 2020/2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown, the police said.
A spokesperson for the Bagmati Provincial Office and Superintendent of Police Nawaraj Adhikari said that the main reason behind the increase in drug-related cases in Makawanpur is the secret cultivation of cannabis.
Moreover, Makawanpur is the main route for the export of drugs to India, including Province No. 2, so obviously drug cases are more widespread in Makwanpur than in other districts, he said.
According to the Bagmati Provincial Office, in Chitwan, 95 drug cases were registered in the last fiscal year and 142 people were arrested. Similarly, 32 cases have been registered in Sindhuli and 53 people were arrested.
A case has been registered and one person has been arrested in Ramechhap district, where there was zero drug trafficking case in the fiscal year 2019/2020.
No drug cases were registered in Dolakha district in the last fiscal year, and no one was arrested but 20 kg of cannabis was recovered, the police said. There has been no case of drug trafficking in Rasuwa. However, 15 cases have been registered and 27 people have been arrested in Dhading.
Similarly, 11 people were arrested in eight cases registered in Kavre and seven people were arrested in five cases registered in Sindhupalchowk. And five drug cases were registered in Nuwakot with 10 people arrested.