Assam to observe National Muga Day on May 19

The Lakhimpur District Muga Farmers Association conducted a meeting at Batomari Adarsh Higher Secondary School in Dhakuwakhona and decided to hold National Muga Day on May 19.

Jitul Saikia, the association's chief advisor and a national award-winning farmer and silk researcher, explained during his presentation that Muga silk and its rearing is one of three important pillars of Assamese culture, along with Assamese language and the Bihu festival, and the extinction of any one of them will mean the extinction of Assamese identity.

Also Read: How Assam government's ban on power loom-made Mekhela Chador dismantled the Surat textile market

According to Jitul Saikia, the economic element of muga raising is particularly profitable, with one hectare of land of a host tree plantation called the Somani earning Rs 1.90 lakh.

One acre of Somani yields yarn worth Rs 7 lakhs on the market. Muga rearing creates employment, with one hectare of Somani planting producing 500 working days.

Muga host tree plantings also help significantly to the maintenance of ecology and biodiversity, as well as protecting the soil from river erosion.

Justifying the necessity for the National Muga Day celebration on May 19, Jitul Saikia stated that traditionally, muga is raised three times a year: Jeth (May-June), Aahar (June-July), and Bhado (August-September), for which the muga receives names such as Jethuwa, Aeherua, and Bhadia.

The Assamese month of Jeth (May-June) is regarded as the greatest for muga silk raising because the temperature becomes cool with pre-monsoon rains that enhance even the weakest muga worms.