Bamboo replacing poppy patches in Manipur jungles: PCCF

The Manipur Forest Department has planted bamboo on 255 hectares of forestland that were cleared for poppy cultivation, one of the triggers of the State’s ongoing ethnic conflict.

Manipur’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Anurag Bajpai, said his department identified 307 hectares of forestland under poppy cultivation in three hill districts — Chandel, Churachandpur and Senapati.

“We have established bamboo plantations across 255 hectares (out of the 307 hectares) as part of the efforts to restore degraded forest areas,” he told journalists on Friday (October 9, 2026).