Thousands flee flooded areas of Bihar

Altogether 20 million people in India, Bangladesh and Nepal have been affected by flooding in the current monsoon, forcing many to leave their homes.

Thousands flee flooded areas of Bihar: Migrants are flooding the cities 

Basaidi flood relief camp, Supaul, Bihar. India.

32 year old Tarzamul Haq is a daily wager from Kataiya village in Supaul. He works on the land lord's farm to support his family. His family of 7 now lives in a relief camp in Basaidi near the Nepal border.

"We are compensated for our work in grains, I have no money and all the grains I had saved for a rainy day have been washed away." says Tarzamul "The landlord himself has lost all his crops and belongings so he cannot help. The flood water will take time to recede and at least two crops or sowing cycles will be lost. How will I feed my family ?"

Over 3.8 million people have been affected by floods and more than 100,000 hectares of cultivable land in Bihar has been inundated.

"Everyone is saying that we should go to the city to find work." says Tarzamul's wife Farhana Begum. She is eight month pregnant. " the government has started free train service for flood victims and they are providing free food at the railway stations."

Every year thousands of people from Bihar migrate to other parts of India in search of work. The seasonal migrants constitute a big part of India's growing urban poor population. They live in congested slums under vulnerable conditions as they strive hard to send money to support their families.

"After such a calamity the number of migrants from Bihar will increase dramatically." says Binod Kumar Oxfam's partner in Disaster Risk Reduction initiatives in Bihar. "The first to flee are those who have relatives in other areas and the daily wagers who need to work on a daily basis to survive. I do not know how one can stop this mass exodus of people."

Uncertainty over issues such as how long will the flood waters take to recede? By when will the inundated land become cultivable? has increased the daily exodus of people from Bihar.