Many houses collapsed in Bihar due to the tremors (Press Trust of India photo)
As many as 50 people have been killed in yesterday's earthquake in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said and directed government officials to carry out relief work for the affected on a war footing.
Addressing a press conference after presiding over a review meeting with secretary-level officials at the state secretariat today, he said as per the latest figures available, as many as 50 people have been killed in the powerful quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale yesterday.
Mr 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 5800 assistance will be distributed to each affected family as immediate relief, Mr 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, Mr 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, Mr Kumar 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.
Mr 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.
Mr 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.
The Chief Minister also announced closure of all schools for two days from tomorrow as a precautionary measure.
All government and public schools in the state will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday for which necessary instructions has been issued, he said.