Patna: Thirty-two people were killed and over 80 seriously injured as a nor’wester ravaged several Bihar districts on Tuesday night, destroying thousands of huts and standing crops.
Principal secretary to Bihar Disaster Management Department Vyasji today said the maximum number of 25 deaths were reported from Purnia district, while six have died in Madhepura and one in Madhubani.
The storm hit Purnia, Madhepura, Saharsa, Madhubani, Samastipur, Darbhanga and Samastipur uprooting several thousand trees, damaging power lines and destroying thousands of huts and standing crops of maize, wheat and pulses.
Road transport in the districts have been hit in the aftermath of the storm as many trees are lying uprooted, he said.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director in Patna, R K Giri said the storm packed wind speed around 65 km per hour. “The storm descended from Nepal side hitting Purnia, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and went deep inside the state up to Bhagalpur.
Our radar data is showing that the wind speed was around 65 km per hour,” Giri said.
Such storms, he said, are common in this season and are called ‘Kal Baisakhi’ or ‘nor’westers’.
The state government has declared a compensation of Rs four lakh to the kin of each of the persons dead in the storm.
The money will be paid from the Disaster Management Fund. Vyasji said the administration in the affected districts is taking stock of the situation and estimating the loss.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will make an aerial survey of the affected area to assess the situation and the extent of damage, official sources said.
Making a statement on the storm in the assembly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, according to preliminary estimate, there has been ‘huge damage’ to crops and human lives in the high speed hailstorm in many districts of north and north-east Bihar.
The districts include Purnea, Darbhanga, Kisanganj, Katihar, Madhubani, Saharsa, Supual, Madhepura, Araria and Bhagalpur.
Kumar said he was leaving this afternoon to make an aerial survey to assess the devastation caused and would hold a meeting of senior officials of the affected region at Purnea after it.
He would hold similar meeting at Bhagalpur tomorrow to gather first-hand information about the extent of damage due to the hailstorm.
District magistrates of the affected districts have been instructed to send recommendations after conducting a survey.
The chief minister said kin of each person who died in the storm would get a compensation of Rs 4 lakh. For loss of crop and dwelling, compensation would be paid immediately after receiving recommendation.
Later, talking to reporters outside the assembly, he said there was no prior warning about the hailstorm. Asked about the loss of lives, Kumar said he would be able to answer only after he returned from the survey. (PTI)
