Patna: Bihar, still reeling under the devastation wrought by a killer nor'wester, bore the brunt of the massive temblor that shook the eastern and northeastern parts of the country on Saturday claiming at least 28 lives and leaving 202 injured.
In West Bengal, three persons were killed and 69, including 43 school children, were injured in quake-related incidents.
Giving the casualty figure in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dashed back from New Delhi during the day said seven persons were killed in East Champaran and six in Sitamarhi, which are near the international borders with Nepal.
There were three deaths in Darbhanga, two each in Madhubani, Saran and Araria and one each in Sheohar, Supual and West Champaran, he told newsmen.
Kumar said 133 people have been injured in quake-related incidents in different parts of the state.
29 were injured in Darbhanga, followed by 16 in West Champaran and 10 in Madhubani. Injuries were also reported from Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Sheohar, Supual, Nalanda, Samastipur, Gopalganj, Vaishali and Muzaffarpur, he said.
The chief minister announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for kin of all the dead in the earthquake and ordered free treatment of the injured.
Hospitals across the state have been put on alert to provide immediate relief. Kumar also said he had telephonic talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on quake impact in the state and the Centre was being provided with latest information regularly.
"Both the Centre and the state are working in tandem to mitigate the woes of citizens after the earthquake," he said. The power system in the state, he said, has been affected due to the quake.
Out of a total of 55 grids in Bihar, 9 tripped in the quake, including one unit each of NTPC in Kahalgaon, Kanti and Barh tripped and restoration work was underway, he added.
Director General of Police PK Thakur said that all superintendents of police have been asked to alert police stations and assess the extent of damage.
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