MANALI: The 382 families of Malana are facing the double whammy of having lost their main source of income following the police's cannabis-eradication campaign of the past three years and being hit by a fall in the number of tourists — who visit this Himachal village for its famed charas.

With the police tightening the screws on the cultivation of cannabis , many villagers have started moving out in search of an income. They say the climate in Malana is not favourable for other crops and they have been deprived of income sources due to the government's apathy.

"Maharaj, bhookhe marne re dhiade aaye ( The situation of starvation is near)," says Paras Ram, a villager, adding that Malana is going through such an acute financial crunch for the first time in many years. "The nation treats us as if we are a separate country. Police, administration and everybody else is after our cannabis plants. We are tired of requesting the government to look into our basic problems and generate sources of income," he said.

Residents say this year they saw a big decline in the number of foreign tourists, who usually visit Malana for the "best" charas in the world.

"People say we are criminals," said Budh Ram, a resident. "We need money to buy food, clothes and to educate our children. We don't have money to buy essential commodities. Cannabis was the only source to generate money. Now foreigners, too, are maintaining a distance from our village."

Anup Thakur, retired DIG and president of Manali Hoteliers' Association , says: "Cannabis should be legalized. It will not only draw tourists, but right policies and restrictions can help our government generate revenue."

Only a few varieties of vegetables and grains can be grown in the seven to eight months that the villagers in Malana get for cultivation before the onset of winter. A few years ago, many residents had tried their hands at cultivating peas, but the crop had to ultimately rot in the farms since the farmers could not get a reasonable price for it.

Villagers have since stopped trying to grow vegetables commercially. They have planted some apple saplings, but it will take a few years for them to fruit.

Villagers also rue Malana's poor road connectivity. Paras Ram says they had requested the government to start buses to Malana from Jari village since they otherwise have to spend about Rs 1,000 on hiring a taxi even for a one-way journey every day. "Electricity lines get snapped every now and then, and our drinking water sources are in a bad condition," he says. "The telephone exchange of the village has not been working for a long time. The administration was planning to set up a ropeway to our village, but nothing has been done so far."

The majority of solar streetlights in the village are out of order, they say.

Many NGOs have come forward to help Malana villagers in income generation by doing embroidery, knitting woollen products and preparing jams and pickles. But people say the income from such work is not enough to survive in the harsh conditions of their village, which is situated at a height of 10,000 feet.