Illegal sale of muga cocoon waste from Lakhimpur behind Bhagalpur silk�s success

NORTH LALHIMPUR, Sept 2 - Monica Burgohain (40) of Saru-Murutiya village in Dhakuakhana subdivision of Lakhimpur district is busy in reeling of muga cocoon into threads along with a group of women from the neighbourhood. The group of women will weave the reeled golden thread of the muga silk into beautiful pieces of clothes as finished products to be sold in the local market. The reeling from muga cocoon is the most crucial part of the muga culture which involves meticulous effort and concentrated skill � done entirely by women.

The muga culture � the rearing and making of muga silk has been a traditional practice among the people of Assam in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts where the women play a very important and crucial part. Women provide at least 50% contribution by direct participation in the entire activity. At current prices, muga silk reared in one hectare plantation can generate a total product value of Rs 10 lakh in a year.

Monica and her fellow weavers, who were reeling the golden thread from the muga cocoon, were also seen keeping aside the wastes coming out from the process. Locally called peloniya muga (muga waste), the women were seen taking them in their fingers from the traditional reeling tool �bhaori kata� and leaving them wrapped on a small bamboo pole. �The wastes from the reeled cocoons are of no use and a man from outside comes to collect them giving us some lump-sum of money,� said Monica. The wastes of muga cocoon are collected by scrap dealers from door to door in this region at a very low price. The rearers too cannot demand more as these are of no use for them.

According to Jitul Saikia, a national award winning agriculturist and eminent muga researcher from the neighbouring Batomari village, the muga cocoon wastes are bought by scrap collectors at Rs 100 to 150 per kilogram from the locals and sent them to Bhagalpur � the centre of the famous Bhagalpuri silk. He further said that the cocoon bank of the Assam Sericulture Department once bought 105 quintals of muga cocoon waste at Rs 500 per kilogram from the scrap collectors in 2017 to be converted into �Ghisa Muga Silk�� produced in Sualkuchi, the silk producing hub of Assam. Saikia informed that after 2017, the Assam Sericulture Department has not procured muga wastes from the Dhakuakhona-Dhemaji region for its cocoon bank enabling the scrap collectors to supply the wastes directly to Bhagalpur at higher prices. The illegal trade of collecting and supplying the muga cocoon wastes from Dhakuakhona-Dhemaji endemic zone to Bhagalpur deprives the local economy from the revenue it deserves.

The Dhakuakhona-Dhemaji muga silk endemic region produces 10 crore muga cocoons annually. These cocoons reel 20,000 kg of muga silk threads, each kg making 15 metres of sheet of cloth approximately earning Rs 72 crore in total.

The muga cocoon waste collected from the Dhakuakhona-Dhemaji region is collected by scrap dealers and sent to Bhagalpur in Bihar where it is refined to �pure� muga silk and turned into attractive, fashionable and very expensive clothes. Thus the household waste from a traditional reeling practice in rural Lakhimpur is being transformed into an exotic brand worldwide. The Assamese women weavers engaged in the production of the muga silk are unaware of this reality. The Bhagalpuri silk industry is profiting and earning an extravagant brand image from the muga cocoon wastes collected unethically from the original rearers and producers of muga silk in rural Assam. �The Bhagalpuri muga silk is actually the muga silk of Dhakuakhona-Dhemaji�, claims Jitul Saikia.

Traditionally the muga cocoon wastes were reeled to make clothes for varying purposes in Assam. Till two decades ago, these were turned into a piece of thread called �Jothori Muga� weaved to make warm clothes for the winter. Satyabati Saikia (80), a veteran muga rearer and weaver from Gharmora village in Dhakuakhona subdivision is a living testimony to this tradition. �We used to make �bor-kapor� (large sheet) from the muga cocoon waste to be used with multiple folds in the bed during winter. Waistcoats, vests are also made from it and they were warmer than endi�, says Saikia. The octogenarian weaver laments the lack of interest by the present generation of making clothes from this waste product and their sale to scrap collectors. Their lack of awareness on the immense potentiality of the waste is taken undue advantage by the Bhagalpuri silk industry.