The tribal families living on a highway with animals by Maharashtra floods

 "It's up to month of living with nothing," Neelakka Modem, a tribal woman from the western Indian state of Maharashtra, says gloomily as rain trickles down her rickety plastic tents.

She and her family, along with 700 others, were forced to abandon from their homes in Somanpalli village in Gadchiroli district after heavy rains in July-august triggered massive floods. They have been camping along a national highway ever since.

"The authorities came in the middle of the night and asked us to move to safety. We run with nothing but the clothes we were wearing," Ms Modem, 70, recalled.

The state government have provided food and water, but living by the highway carries risks - speeding vehicles, wild animals, including deadly snakes, are common in this region which is home to dense tropical forests.

Back in the village, Ms Modem's son Madhukar, a farmer also labourer, is trying to salvage whatever he can from their destroyed house. But Ms Modem wonders if they will ever go back.

"We can't live there anymore - the place is inhabitable. The government should rehabilitate us elsewhere," she said.