By IANS,
Patna : At least six people, including a girl child, were killed and dozens injured in Bihar in the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook large parts of northern and eastern India, police said Monday.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has put the state disaster management department on alert and directed all district magistrates to mobilise resources.
Two people died in Nawada, and one each in Darbhanga, Nalanda, Bhagalpur and Patna, Additional Director General of Police Rajvardhan Sharma told IANS.
A seven-year-old girl was crushed to death at Harnaut, in the chief minister’s home district of Nalanda, when a wall collapsed.
A man died in Darbhanga and another in Bhagalpur when they fell down while running to safety during the earthquake.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced compensation of Rs.1.5 lakh to the kin of each of those dead.
“The chief minister has issued orders to alert all police stations, block offices and National Disaster Response Force teams,” the chief minister office said.
The quake, with its epicentre on the Sikkim-Nepal border, left many houses damaged across the state. An under-construction building tilted in Patna.
Shocks of high-intensity earthquake — at 6.8 on the Richter scale it is known to cause severe damage — were felt as far to the northwest as Delhi just after 6.10 p.m. Sunday.
Sikkim bore the brunt. Apart from Bihar, West Bengal and the northeastern states were most affected.