A quiet valley near Kandhamal district headquarters hides vast illegal cannabis farms. But peace breaks as police teams armed with mowers enter and destroy crops fast. Since November, Kandhamal police have cleared more than 4,000 acres of cannabis plantations. This year alone, authorities seized 59,068 kg of ganja and arrested 211 people in 185 cases – the highest cannabis seizure recorded by any district in India in 2025. Kandhamal Superintendent of Police, Harish B.C., said, "We have mobilised all our efforts to ensure that the ganja consignments do not leave the district and are destroyed or seized within our jurisdiction." The region’s remote forests and suitable climate make cannabis farming easy and profitable. The crop sells for around ₹2,000 per kg, rising to ₹3,000 during police crackdowns. A Deputy Superintendent of Police was suspended recently over links to this trade. The outlawed CPI (Maoist) reportedly supports these plantations. Despite using drones, police find it hard to catch all growers as plantations are small and hidden. Identifying financiers behind this trade is even tougher since they keep their identity secret by hiring villagers. Police now target both growers and funders in raids and investigations. Many plantations are on forest lands, adding legal hurdles. In Boudh district, a person’s bank transactions worth crores raised suspicion, leading to Income Tax Department probe. Police also plan to persuade villagers to switch from cannabis to legal crops like fruits and spices using rural employment schemes. An officer said, "Antagonising villagers is the last thing on our minds," as authorities try a careful balance between law enforcement and community welfare.