The death toll in Bihar due to Saturday’s 7.9-magnitude earthquake mounted to 51 on Sunday amid reports of widespread damage to property and crops from various parts of the state.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed government officials to carry out relief work for the affected on a war-footing.
Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat on Sundya, he said as per the latest figures available, as many as 51 people have been killed in the powerful quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale yesterday.
Kumar said one person was killed in a quake-related incident in Samastipur district.
The Chief Minister said he has ordered officials to undertake relief work among the quake-affected on a war footing in Bihar for which all the ministers and secretaries will camp in the districts under their charge.
Relief work will also be carried out simultaneously for all those affected by unseasonal rains in February and March this year, cyclonic storm in Purnia and other districts earlier this month, besides the earthquake, he said.
To mitigate the woes of people affected by a series of natural calamities in the past few months, it has been decided that one quintal foodgrain, besides Rs 5,800 assistance will be distributed to each affected family as immediate relief, Nitish Kumar said.
He said an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh has been paid to the kin of all those people killed in the earthquake.
The extent of damage to crops and houses was being assessed for providing compensation to the affected people, Kumar said, adding, the compensation to those people whose houses have been destroyed or damaged by the quake and other calamities recently will be provided from the Disaster Management Funds.
Referring to an aftershock which was felt this afternoon, measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale, he urged people to remain vigilant and extend cooperation among themselves to allay fears arising out of frequent aftershocks which have been rocking Bihar since yesterday.
The damage, if any, caused by the aftershock, was being assessed, the Chief Minister said.
“I appeal to you all to display patience and remain united to guard against panic being created by false rumours being spread by mischievous elements through social networking sites, including Whatsapp,” he said. Kumar said he had visited public places in the state capital last night with a specific purpose to reassure people in the aftermath of the tremors and said the state government was doing all it can to mitigate the situation.
Noting that people take shelter in public places after earthquake, the Chief Minister said he has directed the administration to ensure that all public parks remain open and potable water is available at all public places and parks for consumption.
He said he has further asked the officials to carry out patrolling at public places to restore confidence among the people. Kumar said he was in constant touch with the Centre to monitor the situation and lauded the Central government for doing whatever it could to mitigate the situation in Bihar.
Eight aftershocks felt in state in past 24 hours: MET
As many as eight aftershocks were fellt in Bihar in the past 24 hours since a high intensity earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale rocked Nepal, a MET official said on Sunday. Of 38 aftershocks emanating from the epicentre of earthquake in Nepal since yesterday, eight have been felt in Bihar measuring between 5.5 to 6.9 on Richter Scale, Patna MET Director AK Sen said. Three of those aftershocks felt above the surface measured above 6.5 on Richter Scale, while the remaining ones were of lower intensity, he said.
Bihar extends help to Himalayan nation
Extending a helping hand to Nepal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said the state government had decided to chip in with whatever assistance it could to provide succour to the quake victims there in addition to the aid by the Centre.
Kumar said, “We share border with Nepal and the people of the two areas have been living together for ages, which warrant us to provide humanitarian assistance at our level too.”
To begin with, state medical teams stationed in border districts will treat the injured people free-of-cost from across the border too, he said, adding, ‘ready to eat’ food packets will be rushed to the quake-affected people of Nepal, comprising two kg chura (flattened rice, 250 gram sugar and salt) in each packet.