Kuki organisations resolve to eradicate poppy cultivation entirely from Kangpokpi district with immediate effect.
Resolution adopted by KSO, Kuki Inpi, women’s unions and village bodies, citing environmental, social and health damage.
Groups commit to awareness drives, village monitoring, and full support to security forces in poppy destruction and alternative livelihood promotion
Kuki Groups Resolve To Stop Poppy Cultivation In Manipur’s Kangpokpi District
Major Kuki civil bodies and student unions pledge to eradicate illegal poppy farming, citing environmental damage, community harm and pressure from authorities
Summary
Several prominent Kuki civil society organisations and student bodies in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on December 23, 2025, unanimously resolved to completely stop poppy cultivation across the hill district, marking a significant shift in efforts to curb one of the state’s most persistent illegal cash crops. The resolution was adopted during a joint meeting held in Kangpokpi town, attended by leaders of the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Kuki Inpi, Kuki Women’s Union, and representatives from various village authorities.
The resolution declares that poppy cultivation will be “strictly prohibited” with immediate effect in all Kuki-inhabited villages of Kangpokpi. The groups cited multiple reasons for the decision: widespread environmental degradation caused by jhum-style poppy farming, health crises from drug addiction among youth, social disintegration in villages, and increasing pressure from both central and state governments to eliminate the illicit crop.
A joint statement issued after the meeting read: “Poppy cultivation has brought nothing but destruction to our land, forests, water sources, and future generations. We resolve to support law enforcement agencies in eradicating the menace and urge every family and village to voluntarily destroy existing poppy fields and switch to sustainable, legal crops.”
The resolution includes commitments to:
Organise village-level awareness campaigns against poppy farming
Form monitoring committees in each village to prevent new cultivation
Cooperate with Manipur Police, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in destruction drives
Promote alternative livelihood options such as horticulture, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, and organic farming
The decision comes amid intensified anti-poppy operations in Manipur’s hill districts since mid-2024, with over 1,200 acres of poppy fields destroyed in Kangpokpi alone in the past year. Authorities have repeatedly accused poppy cultivation of funding insurgent groups, fueling drug trafficking, and exacerbating ethnic tensions in the state.
Kuki leaders emphasised that the resolution was a community-led initiative and not taken under duress, though they acknowledged the role of sustained pressure from security forces and the state government’s “war on drugs” campaign. The move is seen as a potential turning point in efforts to wean hill communities away from the lucrative but destructive crop, which has long been blamed for deforestation and soil erosion in the fragile hill ecosystem.
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