Bhogali Bihu’s sweet link: Gur revives sugarcane farming in Assam

Dergaon, Jan 13: Uruka of Bhogali Bihu, the festival marking the post-harvest celebration in Assam, will be observed on Tuesday. Among the various ingredients associated with Bhogali Bihu, jaggery, popularly known as gur, is one of the most essential.

Following the closure of the Baruabamun Gaon Sugar Mill, farmers shifted from sugarcane to tea cultivation due to the absence of a viable sugarcane market. However, at present, farmers are being motivated by the Buralikson Sugarcane Research Station at Daria in Golaghat district. Several farmers are now engaged in sugarcane cultivation and earning profits.

Similarly, sugarcane cultivation is also being witnessed in the Bhakat Chapori area of Majuli district. The gur produced in Bhakat Chapori has found a good market across Upper Assam.

The gur of the Missamara area has historical significance, as it is documented that an Ahom king received supplies of gur for the construction of the historic Negheriting Siva Doul. The area from which the material was supplied came to be known as Gurjogania.

The All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Sugarcane, with its headquarters at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, has been serving the nation by coordinating sugarcane research since 1970 through a network of research stations under ICAR, State agricultural universities, State government departments, and non-government organizations. The project was initiated at the AAU Sugarcane, Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Research Station, Buralikson, in 1975.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Chief Scientist (CS) of the Assam Agricultural University – Sugarcane, Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Research Station (AAU-SMAPRS), Buralikson, Dr Tulsi Prasad Saikia said that the station is presently cultivating eight different sugarcane varieties on an experimental basis across six hectares of land.

Dr Saikia said that the gur produced at the station is gaining popularity and remains insufficient to meet the growing demand. At present, the hybrid varieties cultivated at the station include Dhansiri, Nambar, Kolong, Kapilipar, Dayang, Borak, Lohit and Daria. A new variety, Kakodonga, is almost ready for cultivation.

He further said that the station has been conducting motivational programmes, as a result of which several farmers, including Chandan Gogoi, Suman Gogoi and Pankaj Bora of Daria, are successfully producing gur and bottled pasteurized sugarcane juice and earning good profits.

Advocating a GI tag for Missamara gur, Dr Saikia said he would pursue the matter. Regarding the overall development of sugarcane cultivation, he urged the government to take up the issue in mission mode. He also highlighted the usefulness of low-cost automated gur-making machines to encourage greater farmer participation.

Dr Saikia further informed that a proposal for setting up a semi-automatic jaggery plant at the station has been submitted to IOCL and NRL. He also mentioned that the NRL biofuel project could be accelerated through sugarcane cultivation.

Meanwhile, residents of the flood-prone Bhakat Chapori area in Majuli district are now actively engaged in sugarcane cultivation, providing livelihoods to nearly 500 families.

Raju Das, a resident of Majuli, told this correspondent that around 1,700 farmers in the district are currently cultivating sugarcane.

By

Sanjoy Kumar Hazarika