Ten children die by drowning in Bihar; CM Nitish announces Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia

New Delhi [India], October 6 (ANI): As many as ten children died by drowning while bathing in Bihar on Sunday. Notably, six children died by drowning in the Sone river in Tumba village of Rohtas district and other four children due to drowning while bathing in the river near Saraiya Dhala in Kursela police station area of Katihar district, said Bihar CMO.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia amount of four lakh rupees to the dependents of all the deceased.
"This accident is very sad and the CM is deeply saddened by this incident. He has directed to provide an ex-gratia amount of four lakh rupees to the dependents of all the deceased in Bihar immediately," said the CMO.

Speaking on the incident Dr. Ramesh from Sadar Hospital Sasaram said, "Today, 5 bodies of children were brought to Sasaram Sadar Hospital from Tumba village of Rohtas district...Prima facie it seems like death due to drowning in water...Right now, we are trying to complete all the formalities and release them (bodies)."

Earlier in September, a total of 46 people, including 37 children, died in separate incidents of drowning across Bihar on the festival of 'Jitiya'.
The incidents of drowning were reported from East and West Champaran, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Buxar, Siwan, Rohtas, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Gopalganj and Arwal districts.
The teams of SDRF and NDRF from the Disaster Management Department are continuously conducting search operations across the region.
According to the Disaster Management Department, Bihar, 43 bodies have been recovered by the team and an amount of Rs 4 lakh will be provided as ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased. (ANI)