SWABI, April 4: The farmers of Mangal Chai area have volunteered to destroy their poppy crop and help the administration in its poppy eradication campaign.

They said that farmers had cultivated poppy over 25 to 30 kanals in Mangal Chai and record of the cultivated land was acquired by law enforcers through officials of revenue department.

The district police had already completed poppy eradication operation in Sirkoi Bala, Chanai and Naranji Kallay areas of Gadoon. District Police Officer Abdul Rasheed Khan said they had uprooted poppy crop cultivated on four acres.

Officials said that elders of Mangal Chai welcomed a police party when it reached there and assured the law enforcers after negotiations that poppy crop would be destroyed voluntarily. Officials said that the poppy eradication operation would be completed soon.

"We are determined to bulldoze our crop at this critical stage," an official quoted farmers and elders of the area as saying. They said that it was critical stage as harvest of the crop was expected after two weeks.

To a question, the official said that they decided to destroy poppy crop at that stage because it could grow again if destroyed in the early phase.

"Instead of conducting two operations, we planned to conduct a single drive and eradicate poppy crop in the entire mountainous region of Gadoon Amazai," he added.

Sources said that police did not register cases against poppy growers and the entire process of poppy eradication was expected to be completed peacefully. "We are happy to achieve our objectives by negotiations," said police officials.

The farmers not only pledged to destroy their poppy crop but they were also made bound to give up its cultivation for good, they added. "It is a great achievement of police officials. The strategy and tactics applied by police had really worked," they said.