It is learnt that Kangra is showing an increasing trend of drug-trafficking and other illegal activities including trading of hides of endangered wild animals and antiques. The district police authorities are given a megre amount of Rs 4000 annually for investment in intelligence work to check such malpractices. And more often than not, the police have to drop the idea of tracing the culprits for want of money or spend extra amount from their own pocket for the job.

The latest instance is of a district police official who nabbed a Baijnath farmer involved in drug-trading and successfully recovered 1.5 kgs of `charas' worth Rs 50,000. According to sources, the officcial had to spend an amount of around Rs 1000 from his pocket to establish links with that drug trader, and the district police had to risk thousands of rupees to lay a trap for him by making advance paryments for the drug from their own accounts jointly. ``However, after the arrest, we could recover the advance payment made to the drug trader, but there is no prevision to re-imburse the money that the concerned official spent from his own pocket to establish links with the culprit on the basis of secret information,'' reveal the district police circles.

According to sources, it is only because of the personal commitment of some cops that they catch hold of the illegal business activities, otherwise much intelligence information with the district authorities is just being wasted in the absence of required funds. It is learnt that last year, the police had a specific information about a local group operative in Dada Sibha area with 14 leopard skins in its illegal possession, but only five leopard skins could be recovered, that too by alluring a part of the group by making some spot payments. The police failed to confiscate rest of the nine skins as the authorities were ill-equipped to lay their hands on the entire link-up of the illegal traders, who are reportedly still in the business.

A police officer laments that the amount given for intelligences work was too small to be put to effective use and it is a grave reality that much of its gets consumed in a few cases only. ``Just a few months ago, a police constanble had shown extra honesty as he made us recover spium valued at Rs 1 lakh for the first time in the district. But what to talk of rewarding him for the concern, we could not even pay him the amount he had to spend personally for trading the clues locally', he comments.

As per police sources, the state governemnt does not provide any fund to maintain routine vigil, even in areas like McLead Ganj where there is high risk of spying and drug-trafficking with increased foreign tourist influx.

Then, it is rather suprising that only a lumpsum amount of Rs 2500 is sanctioned to the district police authorities every year to motivate the cops by awarding Rs 100 or a little more to them at times of exceptional work, which is hardly any encouragement for the policemen, who not only risk their lives but also put their money at stake.

Kangra SSP K.C. Sadyal said: ``Many times, we really find it difficult to carry out intelligence operations as Kangra is too big a district, but we have already taken it up with the high-ups''.