National Muga Day To be observed in Assam on May 19

Guwahati: National Muga Day will be celebrated on May 19 as a result of a conference held by the Lakhimpur District Muga Farmers Association at Dhakuwakhona.

According to Jitul Saikia, the association’s chief advisor and a national award-winning farmer and silk researcher, Muga silk and its production, along with the Assamese language and the Bihu festival, are three crucial pillars of Assamese culture, and the extinction of any one of them will mean the extinction of Assamese identity.

Jitul Saikia claims that the business side of muga growing is quite lucrative, with one hectare of land used for a host tree planting known as the Somani generating Rs 1.90 lakh.

Somani produces yarn with a market value of Rs. 7 lakhs per acre. With one hectare of Somani planted yielding 500 working days, muga rearing generates employment.

The planting of Muga host trees also greatly contributes to the preservation of ecology and biodiversity, as well as to the protection of the soil from river erosion.

According to Jitul Saikia, who was defending the need for the National Muga Day celebration on May 19, muga is traditionally raised three times a year: during Jeth (May–June), Aahar (June–July), and Bhado (August–September), for which the muga is given names like Jethuwa, Aeherua, and Bhadia.

The Assamese month of Jeth (May–June) is regarded as the best for raising muga silk because the pre-monsoon showers reduce the temperature and strengthen even the most vulnerable muga worms.