Rs 4 lakh for kin of squall victims

Patna: The state government has announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to families of three people who lost their lives in the thunder squall that hit different parts of the state on Friday.

Disaster management department principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit shared the information on Saturday and said five persons were injured in the incidents. He said people had been asked to take precautions, as more thunderstorms were likely to hit the state till Sunday.

The Patna Met office, however, said chances of hail stones hitting the state were negligible though there was a chance of thunder hitting different parts of the state. “There are certain synoptic features prevailing over Bihar, which may lead to more thunderstorms but intensity of these thunders would be less than what was witnessed on Friday,” Patna MET office scientist Anand Shankar told The Telegraph on Saturday.

Thunder squall accompanied by hailstones had hit 10 districts – West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Bhojpur, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Araria and Kishanganj – on Friday leading to death of at least three persons. One death each was reported from Sangrampur (East Champaran), Bhore (Gopalganj) and Sahebganj (Muzaffarpur) on Friday.

Amrit said while two persons got injured in squall-related incidents in Madhubani, the same number got injured in Darbhanga district. One injury was reported from Muzaffarpur district.

While one of the injured persons has been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital, three have been admitted to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital and one to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur.

According to government norms, if an injured person remains hospitalised for a week, a compensation of Rs 4,300 is paid to the affected family whereas in case of hospitalisation for longer than a week, the compensation amount goes up to Rs 13,500.

The disaster management department is working on a project that entails better monitoring of natural calamities that hit the state at different times of the year and proper monitoring of relief work after a calamity. Amrit said that a state emergency operation centre (SEOC) is being set up in the new building that has been built for the police headquarters. “We aim to make SEOC function before the next rainy season,” said the DMD principal secretary.

Courtesy: The Telegraph