The village is now part of the global drug network. Here cannabis is grown by foreigners with the connivance of villagers
KASOL: If you visit Kasol village, you may not understand what they speak. Over the years, this small village in Himachal Pradesh has learnt to talk in a foreign tongue: Hebrew.
But Hebrew is not a village passion or an urge to know the outside world better. It's all about money...pots of it earned illegally. For, heady cannabis has struck deep roots after 3, 000 Israelis made the village their home.
Apart from Israelis, people from Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Holland also visit this hamlet frequently for cannabis. "Every year the area under cannabis cultivation has been increasing, thanks to the patronage of foreigners," says Chandagi Ram, a panch from Kasol.
Ironically, Kullu Valley, known as Dev Bhoomi (the heavenly abode), was once popular worldwide for apples and peaches. "But with the sudden influx of foreigners, it has now acquired the dubious distinction of becoming a land of cannabis, eyed by international smugglers," says Ram ruefully. The new inhabitants have also rechristened their habitats. For instance, the valley next to Malana, about 15 km from here, is called Magic Valley. And the neighbouring valley is called the 'Waichin Valley'.
"The valleys have virtually become homelands for foreigners. They not only stay for years, but also marry local girls and settle down," says Ram.
"It's very systematic," says a police official. "One set of foreigners gets hybrid cannabis seeds, and another set resides here and monitors the cultivation through local folks. The produce is then smuggled out by villagers to Delhi, Mumbai and Goa to be shipped abroad."
Officials estimate that cannabis, cultivated across 8,000 acres in Kullu Valley, would yield 30-40 tonnes of hashish. Kullu's Superintendent of Police, Anant Pratap Singh, estimates the number of foreigners engaged in the illegal activity at anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000.
"In the last five year, about 70 foreigners have been taken into custody while 143 cases of charas smuggling have been registered in the district," he points out. "Most of these foreigners come on a tourist visa and then overstay.
Over time they integrate with the locals, marrying them, and it becomes very difficult for us to keep track." When contacted by DNA, the spokesperson of the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai Michal Gurarych refused to comment.
"I do not have any such information," she added.
Recently, two Austrians, Daniel and Florien, were taken into custody along with a local resident, Chande Ram, for cultivating cannabis. Similarly, an Israeli, Lior Avi Ben, and a Czech national, Andreev Tiri, were arrested in Chandigarh while trying to stuff hashish in sofas. The consignment was supposed to be shipped to Holland.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) plans to destroy the present crop to check the menace. Last year, the NCB destroyed 2,420 acres of cannabis, approximately one-third of the total cultivation. "It (the cultivation) is widespread in Rasol, Bhuntar and Banjaar valleys, where even forest land has been encroached upon," an NCB official told DNA. "As harvesting peaks in October, we propose to commence our operation later this month." NCB feels the connivance of foreign nationals and villagers has been so intense that no information is available for the police to act."It has been a veritable syndicate in operation in the region," the NCB official said.
Of course, part of the problem also lies with the language-barrier officials have to surmount: Hebrew.
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