Price of Sheelavathi variety touches new high after crackdown pushes up demand

Visakhapatnam: The price of

ganja

from Visakhapatnam in metro cities has increased by over 30 to 40 per cent following the demand for

Sheelavathi

variety

cannabis

and seizure of the contraband from the district and parts of Telangana.

The cannabis that makes its way to Bollywood and Tollywood originates from Vizag Agency and is in high demand across the country. Enforcement officials predict prices to touch a new high in the coming days due to the widening gap between demand and supply, following drives to end ganja cultivation.

Vizag Agency and the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) belt cultivate three varieties of cannabis—Raja Hamsa, Kala Pathri and Sheelavathi. The Sheelavathi variety commands a booming market in the country, with consumers choosing it over the varieties grown in Idukki Valley (Kerala) and Chamba Valley (Himachal Pradesh).

Speaking to TOI, deputy commissioner, Special Enforcement Bureau (

SEB

), Vizag, SVVN Babji Rao said middlemen procure the cannabis from cultivators, for Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per kilo. The weed has a market value ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 in Vizag city. The price in cities like Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai ranges from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per kg.

“Price of Sheelavathi in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru markets was Rs 50,000 per kg till last year. But it increased to Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 per kg due to high demand and crackdown on ganja transportation in various states. We think Vizag ganja price may further increase in metro cities,” Babji Rao added.

A senior officer with the SEB said ganja from Vizag reaches every corner of the country. “We have booked cases against some drug peddlers belonging to Mumbai and we can say that the weed seized in Bollywood originated from Vizag Agency,” he added.

However, ganja growers have been getting low profits while middlemen and drug dealers rake in large amounts by selling the weed in metros. Ironically, most of the victims in this illegal trade are tribal people. “Most of the remand prisoners and convicts in the ganja-related cases are tribals,” said secretary of the Joint Action Committee of Adivasi Unions and Federations, Ramarao Dora .

The Sheelavathi variety commands a booming market in the country. Its price in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru markets was Rs 50,000 per kilo last year, but has increased to Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 per kg due to demand brought about by crackdowns on ganja transportation