Centre promises all help to storm-hit Bihar; toll rises to 56

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday took stock of the storm-hit districts in Bihar and assured all possible central assistance to the state government so that relief work could be beefed up.

At least 42 people had died in April 21 storm. The death toll on Friday, however, increased to 56 with Purnia recording the maximum casualty of 39.

Rajnath, flanked by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Ministers Radhamohan Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, undertook an aerial survey of the storm-hit districts of Purnia, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul and Katihar.

“The Centre will provide all possible assistance to the Nitish regime, so that compensation to the needy reaches at the earliest,” Rajnath said at Purnia.

Nitish, who has asked the Disaster Management Department to assess the damage caused in various districts, announced immediate gratuitous relief (GR) of Rs 5,800 in cash, in addition to the ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. As part of the GR, the victims will be eligible to one quintal of foodgrain, which would be given to those whose houses were damaged on April 21.

Meanwhile, the Met Department has sounded alert for a possible thunderstorm in the next 48 hours in eastern Bihar, particularly those districts which are closer to West Bengal.

“We have sounded an alert after some areas in north-eastern Bihar have shown signs of atmospheric instability. Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj are districts which may witness thunder squall soon,” said State Director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) A K Sen. The alert by the IMD comes against the backdrop in which Nitish had blamed the weathermen for not issuing an alert for April 21 cyclone-storm.

Senior IMD officials conceded that it was impossible for them to issue a warning before four hours as such storms take just two hours to develop, 30 minutes to show affect and 90 minutes to complete the catastrophe. “Warning about such thunder squall, which even if issued four hours in advance, won’t give sufficient time to any state government to brace itself up,” said a senior Met official, adding that the rainfall was not worrying, but the wind was causing an alarm as it leads to huge destruction.