Opium factory falls on bad times

Darpan Singh
Ghazipur, April 25

The opium & alkaloid factory as Ghazipur, only the second of its kind in the country, has fallen on bad times. The persistent downward spiral in India’s export of refined opium has taken its toll on the opium-producing farmers of the state. From 649 tones in 1999-2000, the country’s export of refined opium fell to 368 tones in 2004-05. As a result, the government has been reducing the price of Indian opium in the international market to better its export. The procurement price for raw opium has also been brought down. The number of workers in the factory has, over the years, come down to 2,000 from 4000.
Besides, all licensees for opium cultivation in Ghazipur have been cancelled. Only 10 per cent of opium producers have been spared in Barabanki. A sources in the factory said, “The Narcotics Commissioner used to procure 350 tones of opium for the factory which has come down to only 60 tonnes this year.” He attributed it to the dwindling demand/production of opium. Now opium is procured chiefly from Rajasthan.
Set up by the British in 1820, the factory had been earning foreign money to the tune of Rs 70-80 crore per annum. After independence, the Government of India acquired it and it later came under the jurisdiction of Finance Ministry. In 2002-03, the government sanctioned Rs three crore for its modernisation which could never be carried out in a proper way. In January this year, a devastating fire that broke out in the factory reduced a processing unit to ashes and caused damaged estimated at crores of rupees.
Government sources said that the refined opium is exported to US, France, Japan, Iraq and Germany by the Government of India. The value of opium is determined by on the basis of morphine units. One kg of Indian opium has 11 morphine units. An official of the factory said, “Other countries are producing opium with higher morphine count and that is why Indian export market is generally shrinking.” Another official said, “While we continue to rely on age-old technology, countries like Australia and turkey have perfected the art of directly extracting morphine from the opium plant.”
It is alleged that at Ghazipur, a lot of opium is produced and sold off in the black market during transit to the government factories and godowns. It is also alleged that workers while going home manage to take their clothes smeared with opium along with them. They later reportedly sell their clothes as opium! However, a CISF official said all workers while leaving the factory have to take a shower and wash their clothes.
The opium farm lobby, by virtue of the prosperity of its patrons, enjoy great clout among local politicians. No wonder, resentment prevails among MPs and MLAs from opium producing districts, who, cutting across party lines, are now demanding steps to boost the country’s export market. In the poll-bound UP, where parties are baying for each others’ blood over one issue or the other, only opium seems to be the a unifying factor!