Impact of Flood on the Employment, Labour Productivity and Migration of Agricultural Labour in North Bihar

Flood devastation creates panic situation during rainy season. In Bihar, the loss due to flood is estimated to be about Rs. 64 crores annually, which accounts for about 35 per cent of the total loss incurred in the country due to floods. It not only affects the agricultural production, properties and lives but also interferes in the labour productivity, employment and wages of agricultural labours which force them to migrate elsewhere either seasonally or permanently. About 90 per cent of the flood prone area of the state lies in North Bihar, which is one of the major factors of the backwardness of this region. In Bihar, on average, 8.47 lakh hectares of total areas and 3.16 lakh hectare of crop land areas are submerged annually for several weeks in the river belts of Ganga, Burhi Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Sone in the state and affects 271 blocks of 15 districts and cause huge individual and public losses to the exchequer. About 300 agricultural labourers migrate per day from Bihar. The causes of migration are irregular and scarcity of employment opportunities and low wages in their native place of flood prone districts of Bihar. So, it was felt to study the extent of employment, labour productivity and migration of agricultural labour in flood prone areas of North Bihar, the most victim region of flood in Bihar and the paper is based on the facts and figures of the study conducted in flood prone area of North Bihar.