In the low-lying lands of Saharsa district in north Bihar, people have adapted their farming to constant flooding – by cultivating summer paddy or garma dhan . This crop is traditionally grown in low-lying areas, river basins and deltas where water accumulates during the monsoons but cannot be drained.
After embankments were constructed, in order to productively utilise their flood-locked land, the farmers turned to summer paddy because of its high yield. Garma dhan is sown around February and harvested in May, thus ensuring that food grain and cash are regularly available in their homes during the off-seasons.
