With the State having no provisions to check hacking of mulberry trees, Uttarakhand lost around two lakh trees during the past five years. The faulty trend has drastically affected silk production that decreased 25 per cent annually. At present, the State sericulture department struggles to maintain annual silk production that has reduced by 25 per cent in the State.
According to sericulture department officials, the trend set in around 10 years ago. In the beginning, people used to sell one or two mulberry trees. later, they started selling mulberry orchards when they were offered good prices by the traders from other cities because it is being used in making hockey sticks and cricket bat blades. As a result, felling of the mulberry trees witnessed a sudden acceleration in 2005.
Areas like Singhaniwala, Selaqui, Doiwala, Nayagaon, Rani Pokhri, Jhajra, which had flourishing mulberry trees, lost them all. The trees were hacked ruthlessly since the farmers in sericulture were offered good prices for the mulberry wood. The farmers sold the trees to make a fast buck.
Felling of trees is a cause for concern for the State sericulture department, shouldered with responsibility to promote silk production. The department swung into action and tried to persuade the silk growers not to sell the mulberry trees and appealed to them to continue their trade.
The department’s appeal fell on deaf ears as the silk growers were getting a fat sum at once as cost of mulberry trees, while growing silk requires lot of hard work. They get comparatively very little return by selling silk. When other silk growers came to know about the advantage, they also started selling mulberry trees.
Farmers sold the trees at their own choice as the State lacks provision to check hacking of the mulberry trees. The State Silk department director Sudhir Mohan Sharma accepted the fact. “There is no provision to check the hacking of mulberry trees in the State. So, the silk growers can sell them as and when they want,” he said.
There were around five lakh mulberry trees in the State which decreased to three lakh as a result of incessant hacking of the trees, Sharma said, adding that there should be some provision to check the felling of these trees required for the production of silk.
Sharma said that the department was struggling to maintain 1.3 lakh kg annual silk production. The trend forced the department to find out some new pockets for mulberry tree plantation. Around 35,000 mulberry saplings have been planted at various locations in Pauri. Similar number of plants has also been grown at several other locations.
Sharma claimed that newly-planted trees would take time to grow. These plants would be conducive to quality silk production after five years. By planting trees the department has tried to compensate the trees felled. He said that the annual silk production decreased by 25 per cent. The department, however, didn’t let the production drop below one lakh kg annually.