Altogether 10 people from Bihar killed in Uttarakhand rains, says CM Nitish Kumar

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that altogether 10 people from the state were killed in the recent incessant rains in Uttarakhand. He said, all 10 people hailed from West Champaran district.
Talking to reporters, Nitish said, “We received information about the death of three people from Bihar, three days ago. Later we got information about the death of seven more people from the state.”
He also said that the bodies of three people have already reached their native place in West Champaran district, while the rest seven bodies were likely to arrive on Saturday.
He said senior officers of the Bihar government and its Delhi-based resident commissioner were regularly in touch with their counterparts in Uttarakhand and they made all necessary coordination with the Uttarakhand administration to bring the bodies of Bihar residents.
Bihar CM further announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh each from the CM relief fund to the next kin of all 10 people killed in the heavy rains.
Nitish was talking to media persons after flagging off the Prachar Raths (propaganda chariots) of ‘Rabbi Maha-Abhiyan (2021-22) in front of the CM secretariat here.
To a question, Nitish refused to make any direct comment on the recent split in the opposition’s grand alliance saying, “We have no interest in this matter.”
When a scribe asked about the arrival of RJD boss Lalu Prasad in Bihar in the midst of the ongoing campaigning for the assembly by-polls, the CM said such questions should not be asked at this (government) event.
Bihar’s deputy CM Renu Devi, who hails from West Champaran district, in a statement, lauded the efforts of the state’s resident commissioner Palka Sahni, West Champaran DM Kundan Kumar and officials of the disaster management department in making necessary arrangements for bringing the bodies of Bihar residents from Uttarakhand.