Bihar CM asks Banka DM to ensure immediate payment of ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to family of kids charred to death in fire

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to the family members of the five children who were charred to death in an accidental fire in Banka district on Tuesday.
Nitish also asked the disaster management department and the Banka DM to ensure the payment on Wednesday itself.
Five children of a family were charred to death after a fire broke out in their house at Rajwaar village under Rajaun police station in Banka district on Tuesday.The children were playing inside their house in the evening when the fire erupted due to leakage from the LPG cylinder, police said on Wednesday.
A villager Ashok Paswan lost his four children including a son and three daughters namely Ankush Paswan (10), Shivani Kumari (08), Seema Kumari (05) and Soni Kumari (02). Children’s cousin Anshu Kumari (10), daughter of Prakash Paswan, who is brother of Ashok Paswan, was also charred alive in the incident, police said.
The CM expressed deep sorrow over the untimely death of five children. Terming the incident as ‘very saddening’, Nitish said he was deeply hurt after hearing about the death of five kids.
Earlier on Sunday, the CM had announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh each to the next kin of all seven persons killed in a boiler blast at a noodle factory in Bela industrial area of Muzaffarpur district.
Altogether seven people were killed and another seven injured after a boiler exploded at the noodle factory on Sunday morning.