Five-year-old Aabid Alam does not know why his family has suddenly shifted. He asks often about the others from his village, Kharaiya from Araria, which was submerged in the recent floods, forcing his parents to camp inside a makeshift tent on National Highway 57, between Araria and Forbesganj.
The Alams are one family among at least 2,000 people from several villages of Araria district, including Azadnagar, Omnagar, Damhaili, Godhi tola among others, who have set up makeshift tents along the highway since July 14, when floods began to affect large swathes of the state. In all, over 65,317 families of 391 villages have been affected by floods in Araria alone, according to the state’s disaster management department.
The one kilometre between Godhi Chowk and Toll Plaza is filled with young children like Aabid, and other families brought together in the devastation caused by the floods.
