Bhubaneswar: The police and officials of the Excise Department have destroyed ganja plantations on vast tracts of land in Gajapati district of Odisha.

In a joint operation, police and officials of the Excise, Forest and Revenue Departments destroyed ganja plantations on over 82 acres of land under Garada, Sikilmaha and Gunjipadar villages of Raipanka panchayat under Adaba police limits in Gajapati.

The officials destroyed around 1.64 lakh ganja plants as part of ‘Operation Green Clean’. The cannabis plants were illegally grown on forest land, police said.

The market value of the destroyed cannabis plants is estimated to be around Rs 17 crore, they added.

As many as seven platoons of armed police personnel were deployed during the operation.

The police as well as the Excise Department, meanwhile, asked the villagers not to opt for illegal ganja plantation in Gajapati district.

The administration has also launched a campaign to encourage villagers to cultivate vegetables to improve their financial condition.